Anti-Counterfeit
The JTAG Interrogator: The Arrival of a New Counter-Counterfeiting Tool
June 18, 2014
The extent of component counterfeiting can be staggering when you think about it: Unmarked refurbished units Salvaged components dressed up to look new Illegal clones or second-run components Tainted components manufactured with malicious hidden features If non-authentic components have made their way into your production line, then each such situation represents a unique set of…
DARPA’s Defense Against Counterfeiting: SHIELD
May 21, 2014
At DARPA’s Microsystems Technology Office (MTO), proposals are already being accepted for the new Supply Chain Hardware Integrity for Electronics program, aka SHIELD. The SHIELD program will be the DOD’s response to component counterfeiting in the supply chain and will include the use of a “a small (100 micron x 100 micron) component, or dielet, that authenticates…
Counterfeit Components Hurt More Than Military Applications
April 23, 2014
When reading the news around counterfeit components, much of the dialogue is driven by the defense industry. When you are dealing with systems that protect our national security and the lives of the people out in the field – you’re not dealing with counterfeits in a bunch of trivial electronics. You’re taking necessary steps to…
A Tale of Two SHIELDS: Marvel Comics, DARPA, and Counterfeiting
April 9, 2014
Marvel Comic’s SHIELD (Strategic help Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division) and, slick as it is, it is more likely to wind up counterfeited than prevent counterfeiting It is a program devised by a secretive government agency. Its purpose is to organize and motivate the top actors in their fields to come together to prevent…
Keys to Successfully Managing DMSMS: Being Proactive
October 23, 2013
“Proactively take timely and effective actions to identify and minimize the DMSMS impact on DoD acquisition and logistics support efforts.” SD-22 DMSMS Guidebook The DMSMS conference is just around the corner. As a conference all about obsolescence management, it tends to be one we look forward to every year. This year, we’re looking to take…
Counterfeit Mitigation: The Trouble with “Tagging”
August 21, 2013
When the subject of counterfeit mitigation and avoidance comes up you generally find a couple of areas that people focus on: standards, test/inspection, and tagging. Tagging can involve many things, including specially etched marks, marks that show up only under certain lights, rare earth tags, and DNA tags. In general, these marks rely one or…
CALCE Counterfeit avoidance: Tags won’t fix the supply chain issue
July 24, 2013
When it comes to avoiding counterfeit components, the CALCE and SMTA “Counterfeit East” symposium at the University of Maryland, College Park is a conference we look forward to attending. Counterfeit avoidance discussions continue to fall in a couple of camps: tags and tagging, test and inspection and quality/process control. On the legal side of things,…
Counterfeit Components: More than parts — it is about people
June 26, 2013
With the dialog about counterfeits in the supply chain, it is easy to lose track of what counterfeits actually mean. Yes, they will hurt your business. Yes, they can lead to heavy penalties and jail time, but counterfeits can also lead to jeopardizing lives; a risk that could otherwise have been avoided. I am always…
ERAI Executive Conference: Gaining Momentum in the Fight against Counterfeits
April 23, 2013
Managing components at risk of going EOL requires proactive planning. If this vital step is not implemented, critical systems run into increased risk of exposure to counterfeits. Two topics that program managers never want to hear about are counterfeit components, and end-of-life (EOL). While it is possible to come across counterfeit components on active products,…
Will sequestration increase the risk of counterfeit components in the supply chain?
March 19, 2013
Between Section 818 in the NDAA FY12 and the NDAA FY13 Amendment, the defense industry is highly aware of the risks of counterfeit components in the supply chain. As a rule, logistics teams know not to purchase parts off EBay but from authorized sources, or purchase directly from the manufacturer. They know about the SAE…