Counterfeit electronics are at best an annoyance to consumers and, at worst, a threat to national security.
Whether it’s an outright fake or a gray market device, the prevalence of counterfeit electronics is fueled by demand that’s not being met by the available supply, Roei Ganzarski, CEO of Alitheon, said in an interview with Fierce Electronics.
“Everything is becoming computerized,” he said, whether it’s cars, day to day devices or systems being used by the US Department of Defense. And when there’s a high demand that’s not being fully met, there’s more room for outright counterfeit chips, as well as gray market items, which might be a genuine chip that’s packaged as new when it has in fact been used somewhere else for several years, Ganzarski said. Although it’s a real chip, it may not perform as expected or required. “It doesn’t have the reliability or the warranty and who knows what else is wrong.”
