Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Yes, transmission is triggered on-chip, but who verifies every chip fabrication is performed using the same imprints? You think governments don't have factory floor managers in their pockets? If you're willing to accept changed chip silicon as a possible attack vector, then you need to start worrying about a rather large set of devices. Your laptop is internet connected and has a microphone. So is your phone. Your…
Exactly. Or, just good old fashion spy mics and cameras, perhaps placed by police, NSA, or anyone who has been shopping at the Spy Shop.
In the past, you used to have to have physical access to the location to install the device. You also needed a listening post close by and a power source to hook the device into, if you wanted long term monitoring.
After you install the listening device, you needed to pay someone to listen to the conversations for hours and take note of anything that needed closer analysis.
All of that is incredibly expensive and difficult to scale.
Now, the device is already installed in the home or carried around on the person (via smartphone). The target takes care of charging the device for you and the information is transmitted across the country via internet connection. Massive computer networks process the data and flag the important parts of conversations.
The cheaper and more automated spying gets, the easier and more indiscriminately it can be done. Criteria for snooping drops because it's so dramatically cheap, the resources are no longer a bottleneck.