3 ms·

No because exporters of these types of things are very wary of getting sanctioned for doing so if they’re caught.

• amelius 4y ago
  But Russia could just (via intermediaries) start a bunch of companies abroad, and let them order the chips. Don't forget that exporters still have a strong incentive to sell stuff.
  • scott_w 4y ago
    The word “just” is doing a lot of heavy lifting here. If “random internet guy” thought of this, I’m sure the fucking US government thought of it, too and works on preventing it going undetected.
    • amelius 4y ago
      Perhaps "just" sounds too easy, but we're talking about a nation here with endless resources. Anyway, perhaps these chips can be watermarked, so if they are found in some Russian tech we know which middlemen to blame.
      • scott_w 4y ago
        You don’t need to get that complicated. Just demand a list of who they sold to, then who they sold to and so on until the trail goes cold. If you can’t get an answer, sanction everyone involved and you’ll find they’ll stop selling to unknown customers very quickly. It’s similar to banks and KYC rules. That was one solution off the top of my head. I’m sure the government has something more sophisticated in place that could be more effective.