The man who leads the world's most valuable chip company spent Sunday apologising to his wife, his children and tens of thousands of employees. Hours earlier, Nvidia's board had announced an independent inquiry into reports that Jensen Huang was the target of a foreign intelligence effort. The Nvidia board investigation has raised a set of questions that go well beyond one executive's personal life: who the woman at the centre of the reports is, whether any secrets were exposed, and whether the board could actually remove a founder who has led the company for more than three decades. The inquiry follows reporting by The New York Times about Huang's relationship with Alice Huang, a former executive at Singapore-based data centre company Megaspeed.

What Triggered the Nvidia Board Investigation

According to the newspaper, US intelligence officials suspected she was gathering information for China. She is not related to Jensen Huang. On November 8, Nvidia said a committee of independent directors, assisted by outside counsel, would oversee the investigation. The board said it "has no reason to believe that either national security or NVIDIA secrets were compromised," but that its inquiry would examine all available information. It added that it has confidence in Huang and his leadership team.

Who Is Alice Huang?

Alice Huang, who also goes by Huang Le, is a Chinese citizen. A profile in a Chinese private-fund database describes her as a former television reporter with Hunan TV and state broadcaster CCTV. It also lists roles at HSBC's private banking division and as vice president at CITIC Securities. However, The New York Post reported that a Hunan TV executive said he had never heard of her, and it found no profile for her on CCTV's website. It is unclear when she and Jensen Huang first met. She was photographed sitting beside him at a bar in Taipei in June 2024, and seen again standing behind him outside a Taipei restaurant in May the following year.

Why the Megaspeed Link Matters

This is where the story moves from personal to commercial. Around the time of the first photograph, Megaspeed began a multibillion-dollar purchase of advanced AI chips, according to the Times. The company bought more than $4.8 billion worth of Nvidia chips over two years, making it one of Nvidia's biggest customers in Southeast Asia. Megaspeed had also faced scrutiny over suspicions that it helped Chinese customers obtain processors restricted under US export restrictions. Those controls are designed to limit China's access to advanced computing, and Nvidia's own filings acknowledge they have affected its ability to sell to Chinese customers. Reports say US authorities later found that Megaspeed's boss was passing information to Beijing. That combination explains why this is being treated as a national security matter. A suspected intelligence asset was reportedly close to the CEO of a company whose products sit at the heart of US export policy, while her company was buying billions of dollars of those products.

What Jensen Huang Said

Huang had previously described his interactions with Alice Huang as normal business dealings. In Sunday's email to staff, he admitted to an extramarital affair. "I was unfaithful to my wife. My actions hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did," he wrote. He told employees, partners, and shareholders that "you deserve better from me," said he supports the investigation and will cooperate fully, and asked for privacy for his family.

Can the Nvidia Board Investigation Lead to Huang's Removal?

Legally, yes. Nvidia's bylaws, filed with the SEC in March 2024, allow any officer to be removed "with or without cause" by a majority vote of directors. The CEO is listed as an officer. Being co-founder offers no exemption. His shareholding does not protect him either. Huang owned about 3.58% of Nvidia's stock as of March, according to the company's May 2026 proxy statement. That is significant, but it is not a controlling stake. There is one important distinction. Removing Huang as CEO and removing him from the board are separate decisions. Removing a director requires a shareholder vote: a majority of voting power with cause, or two-thirds without cause. The board could take away the CEO role, but not his board seat on its own. Having the power is not the same as planning to use it. The board has expressed confidence in Huang and has announced no plan to replace him.

Does an Affair Break Company Rules?

Not automatically. Nvidia's proxy statement requires directors, officers and employees to avoid activities that conflict, or appear to conflict, with the company's interests. The investigation could look at confidential information, customer relationships and policy compliance, but Nvidia has not said Huang breached any of these. Past cases show why the details matter. Intel's Brian Krzanich resigned in 2018, and McDonald's dismissed Steve Easterbrook in 2019, after relationships with employees that broke company policy. Huang's case involves a former executive at an outside customer, which makes the situation materially different.

How Washington and Seoul Are Reacting

President Donald Trump called the situation "very complex," said he had always found Huang "very aboveboard," and added that the administration would look into it "very closely." Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he could not comment. On November 4, three Republican congressional committee chairmen requested a closed-door briefing from Huang on November 18 about the allegations and Nvidia's safeguards against foreign espionage. In South Korea, Vice Minister of Science and ICT Ryu Jemyung said 10,000 Nvidia GPUs funded under a 2025 budget had already arrived, and that contracted deliveries for 2026 were expected to proceed without disruption. Separately, a planned visit to South Korea by Huang's daughter Madison Huang, an Nvidia senior director, was cancelled around the same time the controversy broke. For now, Huang remains chief executive. The outcome hinges on what the independent investigators find, particularly whether any confidential information or customer dealings were affected, and on what Huang tells lawmakers on November 18. The board has said it will share updates as appropriate.

Japanese companies are starting to compensate customers after a run of cyberattacks disrupted internet services and stirred concerns about economic stability. GMO Internet is the latest to do so, pledging payouts after hackers breached its foreign exchange trading service.  In a blog post on Oct 25, chief executive Masatoshi Kumagai said customers would be compensated for losses caused by unauthorized access, and each would receive 5,000 yen (S$41) as “an initial gesture of good faith.”  Kumagai, whose group spans internet infrastructure and cryptocurrency trading, warned that “the internet itself is now starting to break down.” He added: “The internet is increasingly being transformed into a tool that malicious actors use to threaten and rob people.”  GMO Internet shares, worth US$2.6 billion (S$3.3 billion) in market value at the Oct 23 close, fell 11% in Tokyo morning trade while the benchmark index was flat.  The company said a party believed to be behind the attack had demanded money and threatened to disclose company and customer information. GMO Internet refused and said it would handle the incident with police and other authorities. It will give customers a free alternative service for six months, though it cannot yet calculate how the goodwill payments and compensation will affect earnings.  Kumagai said the company’s white-hat hackers had identified security issues, but the depth and speed of the response were insufficient. 

AI and PHP Flaws Put Japanese Companies at Risk

Experts say AI is helping attackers automate tasks from scanning for software vulnerabilities to crafting phishing campaigns, making cybercrime faster, cheaper and harder to detect.  On Oct 23, Japan said it would set up a team to simulate cyberattacks using AI to find weaknesses in technology systems. Organisations were rushing to limit risks from flaws in PHP, the programming language underpinning much of the internet. Last week, government and company websites in Japan, Europe and elsewhere went offline after critical PHP vulnerabilities were disclosed, prompting millions of hacking attempts. 

GMO Internet Chief Seeks Stronger Cyberdefence

Kumagai has asked the Japanese government to apply cyberdefence measures in response to the attack, following the introduction of a cyberdefence system in October. That system could involve steps such as attacking hostile servers to neutralise threats.  “Now is the time for the public and private sectors to work together to protect Japan,” he wrote. 

Rising Security Costs for Japanese Companies

The recent attacks have exposed weaknesses in how Japanese companies protect their large stores of customer data, raising the prospect of steep costs to shore up defences.  “Companies already have standard security measures in place, so if they want to strengthen them further, there is a possibility that the additional cost burden could be quite substantial,” said Shoichi Arisawa, an analyst at IwaiCosmo Securities.  TrendAI data shows 723 cybersecurity incidents in the year to Oct 20, more than the annual totals for 2025 and 2024. Satoshi Nagano, president of ESET Japan, said: “Reports may reflect both the threats organisations face and greater visibility into incidents that would previously have gone undetected, been underinvestigated, or remained undisclosed.”  GMO Internet is not alone in paying customers. Park24, which runs the Times car-sharing service, said on Oct 23 it would pay customers 3,000 yen each after a personal data breach. It will stop keeping identity document images once registration checks are done and expects an extraordinary loss of 5.5 billion yen from its response to the attack and compensation payments. 

Japan is preparing to set up a dedicated team to run AI-driven cyberattack simulations to expose weaknesses in technology systems. Japan’s plan for AI cyberattack simulations comes as organizations worldwide scramble to address critical PHP flaws that have disrupted parts of the internet. 

Speaking on Friday, Industry Minister Ryosei Akazawa said those defending against cyber threats need to think like attackers, using AI proactively to uncover potential weak points before they can be exploited. 

His comments follow widespread disruption caused by the disclosure of the PHP flaws, which led to millions of reported hacking attempts. Businesses and governments were forced to patch their systems or temporarily take websites offline.  

Because PHP is widely used to build and run websites and web applications, any weakness in the language poses a risk to organizations across many sectors. 

How PHP Flaws Hit Banks, Airlines and Government 

The vulnerabilities triggered precautionary shutdowns across banking, transport, airline and government services in several countries. 

In Japan, Nomura, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, ANA and East Japan Railway temporarily halted some online services. The Ministry of Finance, the National Tax Agency and the Meteorological Agency also suspended certain digital services as part of their security response. 

On Friday, JR East said some of its services were back online, while others would resume only after safety checks. Nippon Paint said it had applied a security patch and restored its website. 

The disruption shows how difficult it is to secure interconnected digital infrastructure when a widely used software component turns out to have serious weaknesses. 

SoftBank Pauses Emergency Alerts Over PHP Flaws 

The fallout also reached services people rely on in a crisis. Telecommunications company SoftBank said it was temporarily suspending its mobile emergency alert system while it carried out maintenance to fix a PHP vulnerability. 

While the system is down, customers will not receive early warnings through it for earthquakes, tsunami threats, disasters, or evacuation information. The case shows that cybersecurity incidents can extend well beyond ordinary websites and interrupt access to vital public safety information. 

Why Japan AI Cyberattack Simulations Point to Proactive Defense 

The episode has put a fresh focus on finding vulnerabilities before attackers do. The Japan AI cyberattack simulations are designed to help defenders understand how weaknesses might be targeted and to sharpen their response capabilities, in line with the approach Ryosei Akazawa outlined. 

Simulation alone is not enough, however. Installing patches remains essential, and organizations need to test updated systems carefully before bringing services back, especially where transport, finance, and government operations are affected. 

As AI tools grow more capable for both attackers and defenders, businesses and governments face the task of pairing fast vulnerability detection with effective security updates, continuous monitoring, and resilient digital infrastructure. 

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New York’s latest budget proposal could fundamentally change how 3D printers work—requiring built-in software that scans and blocks certain designs. Supporters say it’s about stopping ghost guns. Critics say it opens the door to surveillance and limits innovation. In this episode, we break down what’s actually in the proposal, why it’s raising alarms across the […]

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The post New York’s 3D Printing Crackdown: Security or Surveillance? appeared first on Security Boulevard.

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Explore the evolving landscape of privacy and security in the age of AI. This article examines the cultural and regulatory differences between the U.S. and Europe, the limitations of current policies, and the imperative for architectural solutions to ensure that autonomous systems can uphold privacy standards.

The post Why the US–EU Privacy Divide Still Matters in the Age of AI  appeared first on Security Boulevard.