AMD has stolen the source code for GPUs Navi and Arden

Torrent Freak noted that AMD has removed a number of repositories from GitHub, apparently containing the source code for the Navi and Arden GPUs. The man who stole these sources from the company told reporters that if they could not be sold, he intended to make the rest of the code public.

Journalists recall that back in July 2019, in order to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the company, AMD introduced Radeon RX 5000 graphics cards with Navi GPUs. The source code for these devices is considered secret, but it seems that now it has fallen into the hands of third parties.

This week, rumors began circulating on the network that someone had managed to get the source codes of the Navi 10, Navi 21 and Arden GPUs on hand, and the latter seems to be used in the upcoming Xbox X. It is usually problematic to confirm the authenticity of such leaks, but in this case, AMD is taking measures that speak for themselves. Thus, in accordance with the Digital Age Copyright Act (DMCA), AMD demanded that the newly created xxXsoullessXxx repository and a project called AMD-navi-GPU-HARDWARE-SOURCE, which allegedly stolen intellectual property from the company, be removed from GitHub.

GitHub immediately turned off this repository, after which Torrent Freak reporters became interested in what was happening and contacted its owner to ask a few questions. The girl turned out to be the owner of the repository (in any case, the hacker introduced himself that way), and she told the publication that the source of the AMD graphics processor really became a reason for the conflict with the company.

“In November 2019, I discovered the source code for the AMD Navi GPU on a hacked computer,” says the owner of the repository, mentioning that she used some exploits for hacking. “Its owner took no action against the [potential] leak.” Only later did I find out what files were stored on this machine. They were not even protected or properly encrypted, which is regrettable. ”

The cracker explains that in this way the sources of Navi 10, Navi 21 and Arden were in her hands. When asked why she published this data on GitHub, she replied, decided to share a valuable find with the world, and did not even try to contact AMD about the leak, as the company would probably try to sue her.

Moreover, the owner of the repository claims that so far she has published only part of the stolen sources, and the rest will be made public for a select circle of people if there is no buyer on them. The fact is that she estimates the cost of this leak at about $ 100 million.

AMD representatives are definitely worried about what is happening, as the company has already supplemented its original complaint by listing at least four other repositories on Github, which also hosted the leaked sources. All of these repositories were also closed.

AMD representatives were forced to make an official statement last night. The company claims that in December 2019, a person contacted them who stated that he had at his disposal test files related to AMD graphics products (it is mentioned that some of them were recently posted in the public domain, but were already deleted).

AMD representatives write that they don’t know if the unknown person has any other files in their hands besides those already “lit up”, but the company is confident that this leak is not a threat to the competitiveness or security of AMD graphics products. It is also emphasized that an investigation is underway of an incident in which law enforcement agencies are taking part.