Tech Giants Reveal How They Were Hacked By Chinese Microchips

In a report released by Bloomberg last week, many tech giants including Amazon and Apple have revealed that they were among the victims of a massive plot to insert Chinese microchips into their computer hardware. The scheme was particularly nefarious, given that most security concerns revolve around securing software, as tampering with hardware can be particularly difficult, but somehow, the perpetrators figured out a way to execute their plan.

According to the report, it was a number of motherboards produced by a company called Supermicro that had been unknowingly altered, possibly based on the designs of the People’s Liberation Army. While Supermicro’s headquarters are based in the United States, like many other computer hardware manufacturers, the bulk of their operations are located in Chinese factories. It was there that their products had nearly indetectable microchips inserted into the operating boards.

The trick was discovered when Amazon did a private investigation of the products pedaled by one of their most recent acquisitions, Elemental, a tech company that had sprung up to create servers that could handle the conversion of large video files for various kinds of technological devices. The vast majority of Elemental’s servers were constructed by Supermicro, while their customers ranged from the tech conglomerates to many classified government contracts.

As Amazon began a thorough study of the servers, they came across the minuscule microchip, deeply hidden in the server motherboard’s design. Upon realizing the breadth of the altered servers, the United States government opened an investigation, tracing Supermicro’s supply line back to its contractors and subcontractors in China until they ultimately discovered the few factories constructing altered motherboards.

While it remains to be seen how the companies who have already installed these servers will proceed, many are dumping their Supermicro built servers while tech companies are searching for new manufacturing bases in countries where the supply line will be secure.

Richard Gere’s Slippery Road To His Happily Ever After

There is no doubt that Richard Gere is one of the most iconic Hollywood heartthrobs of the last 50 years. With a countless number of relationships and rumored affairs, has the Pretty Woman star finally found the one?

Too Good To Be True?

After dating for the last few years, Richard Gere tied the knot for the third time with fellow activist Alejandra Silva. This begs the question: is the third time the charm for Gere? Or is it just another fleeting romance?

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Too Good To Be True?

He Could Have Whoever He Wanted

Richard Gere was already a big name, but after starring alongside Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, he reached a whole new level of superstardom. It wouldn’t take long before the most beautiful women in the industry were lining up to date the Hollywood heartthrob. Then came supermodel Cindy Crawford, who tied the knot with Gere in a rushed Las Vegas ceremony in 1991. From day one, fans and journalists alike were skeptical as to whether the couple would stand the test of time.

He Could Have Whoever He Wanted

Cindy Doesn’t Want To Talk About It

Although they were stunning to look at on a variety of red carpets, Richard Gere and Cindy Crawford were just not meant to be. After four years of marriage, they decided to call it a day in 1995. However, it seems like something must’ve gone seriously wrong between Gere and Crawford. The former supermodel even refused to discuss the failed relationship in her autobiography, Becoming. “It’s not something I want to share,” she said.

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Cindy Doesn’t Want To Talk About It

License To Wed

It would be seven long years before Richard Gere decided to settle down once again. Amazingly, it was with Carey Lowell, who is probably best remembered for her role as Timothy Dalton’s love interest in the James Bond movie License To Kill. The couple tied the knot in 2002. However, they had already spent a considerable amount of time together and even had a kid two years before their big day – Homer James Jigme Gere, who was born in February 2000.

License To Wed

Another One Bites The Dust

It may have seemed like Richard Gere and Carey Lowell were one of the more stable couples in Hollywood. However, in 2013, after being married for 11 years, the couple decided to part ways. This certainly wouldn’t be the end of Gere and Lowell’s saga. The following three years would see the two ex-lovers go back and forth in longstanding divorce procedures. Eventually, the pair managed to bring the fiasco to a settlement in the Fall of 2016.

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Another One Bites The Dust

On The Rebound

During his highly contested divorce with Carey Lowell, Richard Gere still managed to find time to blow off some steam and get back out there in the dating world. For a while, it looked like the actor had truly moved on after meeting TV personality, Padma Lakshmi. The Top Chef host became romantically linked with Gere in April 2014. However, the relationship eventually fizzled out after six months with one source saying, “they decided they would be better off as friends.”

On The Rebound

Heartbreak Hotel?

There is no denying that Richard Gere was, for a long time, the man that every man wanted to be and every woman wanted to be with. With his only serious relationship before the ’90s being with actress Penelope Milford, Gere fully embraced the Hollywood lifestyle and was rumored to be in a series of high-profile affairs. One woman who the actor reportedly had a one night stand with was Elvis Presley’s ex-wife, Priscilla. This was according to her ex-boyfriend Michael Edwards, at least.

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Heartbreak Hotel?

Off-Screen Lovers Too?

It has happened time and time again in the world of Hollywood. Passions between on-screen couples have been so high that they have ended up dating in real-life too. Kim Basinger’s ex-husband grew suspicious when the actress kept coming home late from rehearsals while filming the 1986 movie No Mercy. Ron then caught Basinger making out with Gere in a car on the other side of the street. Even though Ron found romantic letters sent from Gere, Kim continued to see the Hollywood star.

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Off-Screen Lovers Too?

Endless Love?

Another superstar who had many rumored affairs and relationships in her long, successful career is Motown legend, Diana Ross. Long before Gere had his first official relationship with actress Penelope Milford, he was spotted on a number of occasions holding the hand of the Supremes lady at public gatherings. This only fueled the rumors that the actor and singer were in a relationship. Ultimately, while their romance is still unconfirmed to this day, all the signs were certainly there.

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Endless Love?

Soul Searching

Despite consistently living the life of a celebrity for the last few decades, Richard Gere has somehow managed to maintain some form of spiritual enlightenment. Not only has he spent a lot of time in the Far East, exploring many forms of Buddhism, he has also worked with the Dalai Lama in an effort to advocate human rights in Tibet. However, his pursuit of spiritual awakening has also taken him down other avenues during his time in Asia…

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Soul Searching

Getting Into Trouble With Shilpa

Along with his spiritual pursuits, Richard Gere has also worked for many noble causes outside of the studio. In 2007, Gere took part in an AIDS awareness rally in India. During a press conference, he held Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty in his arms and kissed her multiple times on the cheek. Not only did it make headlines, but Gere and Shetty ended up getting arrested for violation of public obscenity rules. After going to court, the judge deemed the case nonsense and acquitted both Gere and Shetty.

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Getting Into Trouble With Shilpa

More Than Just A Pretty Woman?

If there is anything that casual fans know Richard Gere for, it’s for his role as wealthy businessman Edward Lewis, who develops a relationship Julia Roberts’ escort Vivian Ward in Pretty Woman. Widely considered to be one of the best movies of the ’90s, many have speculated about the nature of Gere and Roberts’ relationship ever since their iconic on-screen partnership. However, after maintaining a steady friendship throughout the years, it is reported that Gere has finally friend-zoned Roberts for good, ever since meeting Alejandra Silva…

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More Than Just A Pretty Woman?

Charity Brought Them Together

This is where Alejandra Silva comes into the picture. It was both Richard Gere and the Spanish lady’s charitable endeavors that ultimately brought them together. At least, that’s what they claim, in hindsight. For a while now, Silva has worked for the RAIS Foundation, a charity that tries to help as many homeless people as possible. Here is a photo of Gere and Silva at one of RAIS Foundation’s regular charity events. But it wasn’t exactly love at first sight…

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Charity Brought Them Together

Playing Hard To Get

Alejandra Silva has previously admitted that she didn’t quite consider Richard Gere to be marriage material upon first meeting him. According to her, she played extremely hard to get during the early days and the Pretty Woman actor was determined to win her heart. He sent her many bouquets of flowers, rarely getting a response. One day though, she finally caved in and decided to give him a chance. Gere also writes songs for her on a regular basis.

Playing Hard To Get

Family Friend

It appears that Richard Gere and Alejandra Silva’s paths were more intertwined than previously thought. It is believed that Gere is a longtime friend of Silva’s family. Her dad, Ignacio Silva, used to be the financial vice-president of soccer giants Real Madrid and has been in close contact with Gere over the years. When Real Madrid won the coveted UEFA Champions League in 2016, Silva and Gere were invited onto the field after the game and got a chance to lift the trophy.

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Family Friend

Half His Age?!

If there is an environment where relationships with large age-gaps are more common than usual, then it is definitely Hollywood. However, Richard Gere and Alejandra Silva took it to another level. The young lady is 33 years younger than Gere, making her half his age! This means that when Gere was Alejandra’s current age, he was starring in ’80s movies such as Beyond The Limit and Breathless. It was during this time that Alejandra was just a baby, crawling around in her family home in La Coruna, Spain.

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Half His Age?!

Romantic Getaway

With a home full of flowers and romantic love letters, Alejandra Silva finally started dating Gere in 2014. Amazingly, it would be an entire year until the public was made aware of their romance when the couple appeared at the Madrid premiere of Gere’s movie Time Out of Mind. It was revealed that the pair had made it official during a romantic getaway in an Italian resort in Positano on the Amalfi Coast. However, there was something deeper going on at the time…

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Romantic Getaway

Marriage Or Baggage?

It wasn’t just Richard Gere who was still getting over his breakup with his ex-wife. Alejandra Silva started dating the actor while she was in the middle of her own longstanding divorce with Govind Friedland. They had been married for eight years beforehand and had even had a son together – five-year-old Albert Friedland. There was no denying that both Gere and Silva were bringing baggage into their new relationship, but would it have an impact on their own blossoming love?

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Marriage Or Baggage?

I Was Lost

In an interview with ¡Hola!, Alejandra Silva confessed that before meeting Richard Gere, she was “lost.” She was unsure about what the future might bring. “I was a little bit lost, without light, and meeting him gave meaning to my life,” she said. Gere followed up this statement, sharing the same sentiment. “I have found the quiet, happy life that I had always sought,” he said. And it’s not just Gere’s personal life that has taken an exciting new turn…

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I Was Lost

Back On TV

While Richard Gere has been one of the most iconic film stars in recent memory, he has rarely been on TV. In fact, his last work in television was about 30 years ago. That is all about to change though. The actor is scheduled to play his first ever lead role in a TV show, playing an American media tycoon in BBC drama MotherFatherSon. He will star alongside the likes of Helen McCrory, who is best known for her role in fellow BBC hit Peaky Blinders.

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Back On TV

Going The Distance

There was one factor that threatened to tear Richard Gere and Alejandra Silva apart early on in their relationship. During the first few years of dating, the couple spent a considerable amount of time apart and were forced to have a long-distance relationship. Due to her commitments as a mother and Richard’s ever-active acting career, they chose to stay together, despite being on either side of the Atlantic. However, they now live together at Gere’s home in New York.

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Going The Distance

Indian Wedding

After having a civil wedding a month beforehand, Gere and Silva tied the knot in a private Indian-inspired ceremony on May 6th, 2018. Both the bride and groom arrived at their ceremony in a tuk-tuk. That’s not all though. They ended up having an incredible display of flowers, decorating them with Tibetan flags and they even had tents that were brought all the way from Jaipur, India. It was a fitting wedding that had a theme close to both of their hearts.

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Indian Wedding

Happiest Man

When Hello! magazine interviewed Gere after the wedding, he said the following: “I’m the happiest man in the universe. How could I not be? I’m married to a beautiful woman who is smart, sensitive, committed to helping people, who’s fun, patient, who knows how to forgive, who’s a great cook – and who makes the best salads in the world!” For the first time in a while, Richard Gere could say that he was genuinely happy and with someone that he truly loves.

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Happiest Man

Perfectly Balanced

One thing is for sure, Gere has found someone who complements him in virtually every single way. While they have so many shared interests, Gere believes that their unique personalities balance each other perfectly. “Alejandra meditates, she’s a vegetarian, a great mother, has the touch of an angel and she’s also Spanish – the land of kings and queens, of Cervantes and Bunuel,” he said. “You can’t get any better than that.” However, it seems that Silva has benefited even more…

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Perfectly Balanced

Building A Family?

Although they are still in the early days of their marriage, Richard Gere and Alejandra Silva have expressed their interest in starting a family together. After a reported visit to a fertility treatment clinic in New York, rumors began to spread about Silva potentially being pregnant. Until there is any confirmation, Gere and Silva will be able to have a makeshift family, bringing their children from previous marriages together. Only time will tell though if the couple ends up having their own child.

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Building A Family?