INDUSTRIAL MANUFACTURING
Data IO Counterfeit
Beware the unsecure supply chain
Michael Tidwell, VP marketing and business development at Data IO discusses eliminating the risk of counterfeit electronics with secure manufacturing
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ounterfeit or fraudulent electronics is an enormous problem for OEMs and device manufacturers, particularly those that rely on a
global supply chain, programming and assembly at remote, third- party contract manufacturers (CMs). That’s because the electronic device supply chain is not fundamentally secure and can be hijacked by bad actors that clone products, over-produce devices, steal intellectual property (IP) during the manufacturing process, or substitute inferior or counterfeit integrated circuits (ICs) for those originally specified by the OEM. This unsecured supply chain has obvious financial impacts for
OEMs: reports estimate that consumer and industrial businesses lose $250 billion annually due to counterfeit electronic components. Equally concerning is the impact on safety and functionality that
these counterfeit devices present. In 2016, researchers at the Georgia cybersecurity firm BorderHawk discovered security flaws in a common networking device called a remote power manager (RPM) that had been purchased from a Chinese manufacturer. According to the Christian Science Monitor, BorderHawk researchers were working on a different project at a large energy firm when they noticed unusual network traffic on their client’s network.
32 OCTOBER 2021 | ELECTRONICS TODAY
Their investigation revealed that the RPM device contained links to a known, malicious domain located in China. The device firmware also contained hidden commands that could be used to obtain lists of user accounts and passwords to access the device and give malicious hackers direct access into data centers and business applications. “Unfortunately, security researchers say these types of
vulnerabilities are not uncommon and often are difficult to detect,” wrote the Christian Science Monitor. “The problem is a byproduct of changes in the way that technology firms source and build their products, often relying on far-flung networks of manufacturers and suppliers who operate with little oversight or quality control.” According to the publication Military Embedded Systems, even the
United States Department of Defense (DoD) supply chain is vulnerable to the risk of counterfeit parts. The DoD estimates that as much as 15% of all spare and replacement parts for military electronics turn out to be counterfeit. What’s needed is a more trustworthy electronics supply chain,
based on secure manufacturing processes and tools that better control and manage manufacturing practices at third-party owned
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