I suppose it depends on how targeted the attack was, right? What if the chips were only on a handful of boards, sent to only the major companies listed in the story?

I also find it hard to believe, I'm just trying to think of ways it could maybe be possible.

Don't buy any gadget online as it will be easy to be intercepted and replaced with the malware version. Live out of the grid as you can if you think these stalkers endangered your existence.

How ignorant of you to paint someone as paranoid when they question that state actors would want to spy on US businesses or interest when the precedent exists on several scales.

We put _so_ much trust to the government. Why you trust an entity that hide something from the public. We cannot let them have so much power, to dictate the public how to live, they are just another human being. They watch us with all the power we give to them, and then we loose control and let them behave as they like and we can't watch them in the end. They collect taxes but not competent to manage it and make people hard to living. Look, we are not cattles, we are human.

But isn't it notable that a major news publication is saying it actually happened in practice, not merely that it could?