Watch out for well-made (counterfeit) chips. Counterfeit parts are big headache. Saelae tells that they noticed first that many more boards than normal were failing the functional test. The USB chip was running hot. It turned out that every last part was an old revision corresponding to a different (obsolete) part number – the parts had been relabeled with a modern part number.
Counterfeit Electronic Parts presentation from NASA gives examples of counterfeit ICs and information on business around counterfeit electronics.
Counterfeit components can be a a big business and safety risk. Criminal Prosecution – Who can be held liable for the sale of counterfeit parts? is an inside look at the unscrupulous business practices that plague the open market and the liability that could accompany this unethical conduct. This article is intended to serve as a warning to sales, purchasing and management representatives involved in the purchase or sale of integrated circuits in the open market. Ignorance is not a defense. It will likely be difficult, if not impossible, for any representative of the open market to argue that they were “unaware” of the risks.
341 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
What To Know When Buying Chips That Haven’t Been Made For Three Decades
https://hackaday.com/2020/01/15/what-to-know-when-buying-chips-that-havent-been-made-for-three-decades/
Those of us who have worked with vintage sound generator chips such as the Yamaha FM synthesizers in recent years have likely run into our own fair share of “fake” or “remarked” chips, sometimes relabeled to appear as a chip different than the die inside the packaging entirely. [David Viens] from Plogue has finally released his findings on the matter after 3 years of research.
The first thing to determine is in what way are these chips “fake”? Clearly no new YM2612’s were manufactured by Yamaha in 2015, but that doesn’t mean that these are simply unlicensed clones put out by another die factory. [David] explains how these chips are often original specimens sourced from recycled electronic waste from mostly environmentally unsafe operations in China, which are then reconditioned and remarked to be passed as “new” by resellers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k72SFBOZ_lw
Tomi Engdahl says:
I Bought a $3 2TB USB Drive and Got More Than Just Malware
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=q2mDGIFl0DI
Tomi Engdahl says:
Dangers of Counterfeit Semi Chips
Fake semiconductor chips cost big bucks and risk lives. Can you recognize the different types?
https://www.designnews.com/cyber-security/dangers-counterfeit-semi-chips/122302744362434
In 2019, the worldwide fake semi market was estimated at $75 billion according to Industry Week. This counterfeit chip market particularly prevalent in the government and defense industries. According to a US government report, more than 1 million counterfeit electronic components were used in 1,800 instances affecting military aircraft and missiles.
Paul Karazuba: Counterfeiting chips can be done in a variety of ways and take multiple forms. I’ll explore some of them shortly. Please note that the term “adversary” used here is a catch-all for people who counterfeit.
Reverse engineering of an authentic chip. A common way of counterfeiting in which an adversary will physically remove the top package of the chip. Then, the adversary will ‘delayer’ the chip one ‘slice’ at a time, making a visual record of all the structures seen on the silicon. Once the chip has been completely delayed, the adversary can then build a chip design using what they’ve discovered. Additionally, techniques like fault injection and differential power analysis (DPA) can be used to determine the secret functions and keys inside of the device, allowing the adversary to understand the firmware within the chips. These chips are manufactured to look exactly like authentic chips, with identical packages, markings, and electrical & communication interfaces.
Creating a chip that functions as the original, but without being identical. This is very common in consumable product markets like printer ink cartridges. Adversaries will build a chip that mimics the pinout and function of the authentic chip, for the purpose of selling a ‘compatible’ chip. These chips are not sold as authentic OEM chips, but rather lower-cost replacements for them. Note: This process is not illegal and is actually very common.
“Grey Market Chips” Long-rumored but rarely proven, semiconductor OEMs without entirely captive (i.e., internal) supply chains have worried that less honest suppliers may have, on occasion, perhaps sold test failures or ‘unofficial’ build stock as authentic silicon.
“Reconditioning” old parts. Prevalent in industries like defense with very long product cycles, adversaries will procure old circuit board containing chips. Those firms will remove the chips from the old PC, perform a physical recondition (clean the leads, remark the package) and sell as new. This is done mostly where the average end product lifecycle (defense, 15-20 years or more) exceeds that of the average silicon product lifecycle (5-7 years).
Paul Karazuba: The dangers of counterfeit parts to chip designers include loss of revenue and reputation of the chip OEM. The primary danger is in the system that the chip is placed into.
Counterfeit chips may function similar to a new, authentic chip. However, there is really no way to know how they will perform.
Grey market chips may function identical, but as they are not sold and warranted by the OEM, there is no guarantee on how they will function. Reverse engineered chips are even harder to forecast.
Indeed, in many countries, there are no legal penalties for either the counterfeiting, or knowingly selling a counterfeit chip.
Paul Karazuba: The most dangerous types of counterfeit chips include those that may be deliberately counterfeited, either in chip design or at the fab and those that are intentionally misrepresented as being of higher performance grade than advertised. For example, several failed space missions may fit into this category such as Russia’s first attempt to go to Mars.
Tomi Engdahl says:
How to Detect STM32 Fakes
https://www.cnx-software.com/2020/03/22/how-to-detect-stm32-fakes/
STMicro STM32 microcontrollers are very popular, and it’s a well-known fact there are some fakes on the market. What I did not know is that many don’t even pass the blinky test.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Dissecting China-Sourced Vintage HP 1970s ICs: Genuine Or Not?
https://hackaday.com/2020/03/16/dissecting-china-sourced-vintage-hp-1970s-ics-genuine-or-not/
While repairing a real-time clock module for a 1970s HP computer that had been damaged by its leaky internal battery, [CuriousMarc] began to suspect that maybe the replacement clock chips which he had sourced from a seller in China were the reason why the module still wasn’t working after the repairs. This led him down the only obvious path: to decap and inspect both the failed original Ti chip and the replacement chip.
The IC in question is the Texas Instruments AC5948N (along with the AC5954N on other boards), which originally saw use in LED watches in the 1970s. HP used this IC in its RTC module, despite it never having been sold publicly.
Whether true or not, as the video (also included after the break) shows, both the original 1970s chip and the China-sourced one look identical. Are they original stock, or later produced from masks that made their way to Asia? We’ll probably never know for sure
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tHFH3yZj3E&feature=emb_logo
Tomi Engdahl says:
Todd Bishop / GeekWire:
Amazon forms Counterfeit Crimes Unit, made up of former federal prosecutors, investigators, and data analysts, to fight counterfeiters on its site
Amazon forms ‘Counterfeit Crimes Unit,’ under pressure to escalate fight against fake products
https://www.geekwire.com/2020/amazon-forms-counterfeit-crimes-unit-pressure-escalate-fight-fake-products/
Tomi Engdahl says:
10 Little-Known Ways to Spot Fake Designer Clothes Right Away
https://brightside.me/wonder-curiosities/10-little-known-ways-to-spot-fake-designer-clothes-right-away-796236/
In order to increase profits and get attention from customers, mass-market brands can’t stop copying designer clothes and accessories. It used to be pretty easy to spot fake products right away, but now some replicas have such a high quality that it’s almost impossible to distinguish them from the originals.
Tomi Engdahl says:
“Your DS18B20 temperature sensor is likely a fake, counterfeit, clone…”
Chris Petrich Warns “Almost All” DS18B20 Sensors Not Bought From Authorized Distributors Are Fake
https://www.hackster.io/news/chris-petrich-warns-almost-all-ds18b20-sensors-not-bought-from-authorized-distributors-are-fake-afcc0a8befc5
A test purchase of 1,000 sensors from 70 different sellers showed the majority to be counterfeits of extremely variable performance
Engineer Chris Petrich has warned of a glut of DS18B20 temperature sensors hitting the market, in quantities large enough that “almost all” of a 1,000-unit batch purchased from over 70 different vendors proved to be fakes.
In a GitHub repository highlighted by CNX Software, Petrich warns that unless DS18B20 sensors were purchased directly from the manufacturing, Maxim Integrated, or through an authorized distributor, they’re almost certain to be fakes — and he has the data to prove it.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Fake Cisco
https://labs.f-secure.com/publications/the-fake-cisco/
Producing counterfeit products is, and always was, a great business if
you don’t mind being on the wrong side of things. No need to invest in
a costly R&D process, no need to select the best performing and
looking materials; the only criterion is the cost of manufacture. This
is why we see a lot of counterfeit products on the market, and will
likely continue seeing them being made and sold at a fraction of the
price of the original. Network hardware designed, manufactured, and
sold by Cisco is a very good example. Having an excellent reputation
due to great engineering, these products sell at a premium price
point. Naturally, this motivates people to attempt producing
counterfeits to try and make easy money. In fall 2019, an IT company
found some network switches failing after a software upgrade. The
company would find out later that they had inadvertently procured
suspected counterfeit Cisco equipment. The hardware failure initiated
a wider investigation to which the F-Secure Hardware Security team was
called and asked to analyse the suspected counterfeit Cisco Catalyst
2960-X series switches and, primarily, provide evidence as to whether
any kind of a “backdoor” functionality existed in those devices. Read
also:
https://labs.f-secure.com/assets/BlogFiles/2020-07-the-fake-cisco.pdf
Tomi Engdahl says:
Combating Counterfeit Chips
The harsh reality is that today, the authenticity of chips is often impossible to guarantee. The counterfeit chip market is sizeable and growing with a worldwide value estimated at $75B in 2019. Those counterfeits are believed to have been integrated into more than $169B of electronic devices. Recent confirmed incidents of counterfeit parts found in electronic systems include defibrillators …
Semiconductor Engineering
Combating Counterfeit Chips
https://semiengineering.com/combating-counterfeit-chips/
How secure provisioning of cryptographic keys can fight the billions of dollars in counterfeit components.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Chris Welch / The Verge:
US Customs seized a shipment of OnePlus Buds thinking they were counterfeit Apple AirPods
Feds proudly announce seizure of ‘counterfeit Apple AirPods’ that are actually OnePlus Buds
Well this is awkward for everyone involved
https://www.theverge.com/2020/9/13/21435637/us-cbp-counterfeit-airpods-oneplus-buds-mixup?scrolla=5eb6d68b7fedc32c19ef33b4
Tomi Engdahl says:
When you buy a chip, how can you be sure you’re getting what you paid for? After all, it’s just a black fleck of plastic with some leads sticking out of it, and a few laser-etched markings on it that attest to what lies within. All of that’s straightforward to fake, of course, and it’s pretty easy to tell if you’ve got a defective chip once you try it out in a circuit. [ 273 more words ]
https://hackaday.com/2020/09/15/deep-sleep-problems-lead-to-forensic-investigation-of-troublesome-chip/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Inside a fake un-trippable circuit breaker.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TJEzdqtXlQ
This is uninspiring. It’s a circuit breaker that looks and feels just like the real thing, but has no fault detecting ability at all. Why would somebody even make something like this?
So an appropriate schematic would be two wires converging into a symbol of a person on fire? That one’s probably near the back of the ISO standards
Tomi Engdahl says:
How to Spot a Fake MicroSD Card and Avoid Being Scammed
BY GAVIN PHILLIPS
PUBLISHED DEC 14, 2019
https://www.muo.com/tag/how-to-spot-fake-microsd-card/?utm_source=MUO-FB-P&utm_medium=Social-Distribution&utm_campaign=MUO-FB-P
Fake microSD cards have misleading high storage capacities. Don’t be fooled! Here’s how to spot a fake microSD card.
Wish.com is an e-commerce site offering fantastic deals on a mind-blowing range of items. You can grab anything from night-vision goggles and underwear to Bluetooth adapters and dog seatbelts for your car.
MicroSD cards with massive volume sold exceptionally cheap. As it turns out, the vast majority of these cards are fake. They work in your device but show a fake volume. Sellers are scamming buyers.
You should note that Wish.com is far from the only site selling microSD cards with fake memory. eBay is awash with counterfeit microSD cards. Even Amazon has sold (and occasionally still does sell) fake microSD cards through its third-party seller scheme
The scammers modify the microSD card controller to falsify the card volume. When you plug the microSD card into your system it appears as a 512GB microSD. But once you start writing data to the drive, you’ll find:
There is not enough space for your data
Your existing data starts being overwritten
The card crashes or corrupts, locking you out
Simply put, these cards are dangerous for your data.
you can run through a few checks to figure out the true capacity of the drive in your hands. Here are three tools to help you out.
FakeFlashTest is a utility that checks the true capacity of a flash drive.
You can use the Quick Size Test to quickly ascertain if a drive is fake or not. The Quick Size Test writes and reads 512 bytes at random segments across the drive. If the write/read process fails, it displays in the log. If you prefer an in-depth analysis, the Test Empty Space option writes and reads to all available space on the drive, then compares the difference.
H2testw is the go-to tool for most people when checking the status of a microSD. However, it was developed years ago, and with the increase in drive capacity, the primary test can take quite a while to complete.
Chip Genius is different from the other tools. Instead of writing data to your device and reading it back, ChipGenius reads information directly from the flash memory inside the card. In that, ChipGenius is by and large the fastest option of all.
The fake microSD card isn’t worthless though. Once you figure out the real size of the memory using one of the tools above, you can set to work making that memory usable. After all, you have paid for it, and maybe even received the money back.
DiskPart is an integrated Windows disk partition utility. You can run it using the Command Prompt, and it is an easy way to make the fake microSD usable.
Reduce the drive to just below the volume of working memory. So, if you have an 8GB drive, use the shrink desired command to reduce to 7.9GB.
Once you have settled on a size, head back to This PC. Right-click the microSD card and select Format. Wait for it to complete. Voila, you have a working microSD card
Tomi Engdahl says:
Counterfeit IC concerns deepen as China rises
https://www.eetimes.com/counterfeit-ic-concerns-deepen-as-china-rises/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Report: Most DS18B20 Temperature Sensors Sold Online are Fakes or Counterfeit Parts
https://www.cnx-software.com/2020/07/13/fake-ds18b20-temperature-sensors-counterfeit-clones/
We’ve already covered counterfeit components with a method to detect STM32 fakes, and several years ago, FTDI decided to take action by bricking clones of their USB to serial chips, although they’ve fairly quickly reversed course following the backlash.
But Chris Petrich decided to look at another type of component: Maxim Integrated DS18B20 temperature sensor often found in waterproof temperature probes. His team bought over 1000 waterproof probes or bare chips from more than 70 different vendors on eBay, AliExpress, and online stores in 2019, and found the vast majority to be fake, counterfeit, or clones.
So if you have such sensor not quite working as expected, you likely bought a clone as some of the counterfeit sensors do not work in parasitic power mode, have a high noise level, a temperature offset outside the advertised ±0.5 °C band, do not contain an EEPROM
Tomi Engdahl says:
How Nanotech Can Foil Counterfeiters
https://spectrum.ieee.org/consumer-electronics/portable-devices/how-nanotech-can-foil-counterfeiters
What’s the largest criminal enterprise in the world? Narcotics? Gambling? Human trafficking?
Nope. The biggest racket is the production and trade of counterfeit goods, which is expected to exceed US $1 trillion next year. You’ve probably suffered from it more than once yourself, purchasing on Amazon or eBay what you thought was a brand-name item only to discover that it was an inferior-quality counterfeit.
It’s an all-too-common ploy, and legitimate manufacturing companies and distributors suffer mightily as a result of it. But the danger runs much deeper than getting ripped off when you were seeking a bargain.
Counterfeit electronics are also a threat, because they can reduce the reliability of safety-critical systems and can make even ordinary consumer electronics dangerous. Cellphones and e-cigarettes, for example, have been known to blow up in the user’s face because of the counterfeit batteries inside them.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Chip shortages lead to more counterfeit chips and devices
Industry analysts recommend businesses take extra care with the supply
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021/06/chip-shortages-lead-to-more-counterfeit-chips-and-devices/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2021/06/23/test-your-blue-pill-board-for-a-genuine-stm32f103c8-mcu/
Tomi Engdahl says:
This MUST Be Fake
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arcGebjgM_k
We stumbled upon some supposedly “new” Intel Extreme Edition CPUs on eBay for massive discounts, which begs the question, where are they coming from?
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://service.shure.com/s/article/ebay-sellers-and-counterfeit-products?language=en_US
Tomi Engdahl says:
Knockoff semiconductor chips flood the enterprise market
https://www.techrepublic.com/article/knockoff-semiconductor-chips-flood-the-enterprise-market/
As the predominantly pandemic-caused global chip shortage rolls on, businesses are now facing another challenge–component scams and bogus supply-chain claims.
Tomi Engdahl says:
A Smart Use for Doping: Implanted Atoms Create Unique Electrical IDs That Distinguish Bona Fide Devices From Forgeries
https://www.nist.gov/news-events/news/2021/09/smart-use-doping-implanted-atoms-create-unique-electrical-ids-distinguish
Tomi Engdahl says:
http://www.righto.com/2014/09/reverse-engineering-counterfeit-7805.html
It turns out my 7805 isn’t counterfeit. eclectro did an in-depth search (details on reddit) and found an old 7805 datasheet from Thomson Semiconductors that exactly matches my chip. And Thomson is the T in STMicroelectronics. So that explains how this die ended up with a ST label.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Its all a Scam! – Before Replacing Your Phone Battery Watch This – Scams Explained
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g41ivRm1ABk
Tomi Engdahl says:
Fake TDA7293 Audio amplifier chip, watch this before buying one .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IlTckCE8CM
In this video we take a look at fake TDA7293 which are commonly available on the internet and e bay, watch this quick video before buying one , my advice is only buy from reputable supplies such as RS components featured in the beginning of the video , you will of course pay more but its a price well worth paying in the end . I know from bitter experience !
Video comments:
same thing goes for the expensive HF power transistors. the sell dirt cheap on ali express but its a hudge gamble if you get a working transistor or a fake empty housing.
I had some fake, very genuine-looking NEC TO-220 audio transistors for a 5kw touring amplifier from a certain uk supplier, luckily I did a channel-to-channel comparison before switching on and found a short across the ‘repaired’ channel due to these transistors. Half of the batch tested NPN and the rest PNP. I threw the lot in the bin and crossed referenced them to something else I could get from Farnell. These fakers are pests.
glad i am not in the trade any more the only fake chips i bought were STK amp chips.
dude China isn’t a scapegoat. Singapore is Not a part of China.
Originally made in Singapore, faked in and sold from China.
So we Chinese should not take all the responsibility. Please donot confused other ordinary people to make worse impression about us.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Arduino Clones vs. the Real Thing: Advantages of Genuine Arduino Boards
https://www.arrow.com/en/research-and-events/articles/arduino-clones-vs-the-real-thing-advantages-of-genuine-arduino-boards
If you could point to an innovation that’s helped bring electronics experimentation to the masses, not many devices could compete with Arduino boards and their surrounding ecosystem. Currently available for under $20, the Arduino Uno is something of the standard in the dev board world, while the Arduino Nano packs nearly identical specs into a smaller form factor. A variety — an abundance, really — of other Arduino boards are also available for different purposes and applications.
Along with these Arduino products, you may also be familiar with Arduino clones and knockoffs. These devices are often available more cheaply than the genuine article and can work well in some scenarios — in fact, many companies make Arduino-compatible boards, building on the design to create something different and suited just for user’s specific needs. Such is the beauty of open-source, and as of this 2013 blog post by Arduino founder Massimo Banzi, Arduino has “always systematically released any hardware design and the software needed to reproduce [their] products.”
Send in the clones
https://blog.arduino.cc/2013/07/10/send-in-the-clones/
When we came up with Arduino, one of the things we decided very early on was that we wanted to release the hardware design files so that people could make their own versions or just make an exact copy if they couldn’t find boards where they lived.
I think we contributed to popularize the concept of open source hardware and we can see it from the huge amount of variations of Arduino-compatible devices being released every day.
After the platform started to become popular we had the issue of figuring out a business model to sustain our work and keep innovating the project. But we also realized we needed a way for people to be guaranteed that
they were buying a quality product that would replace any defective item, should problems arise
they were contributing to a community that would bring forward open-source values and knowledge sharing
A few years later the situation is clearly complex with so many companies identifying something as an Arduino even if the only thing they have in common with us is the board pinout. It’s time we clarify what in our mind is an Arduino, what are the different variations of Arduino around and how they relate to our project.
We classified them as Clones, Derivatives, Compatibles and Counterfeits. But let’s start with explaining what is an official board.
– Official Boards
An Arduino is a board which
it’s directly supported by the official Arduino IDE
it follows the Arduino layout we have standardised
it’s properly documented on our website
it’s properly licensed to bear the Arduino name and logo
it’s made by authorized manufacturers
The authorized manufacturers pay a small royalty to Arduino to keep the project going (pay for the servers, the people who develop the software, design the hardware, write documentation and provide support, etc.). We sign contracts with them and all the authorised distributors that make sure they will replace any defective board should the customer receive a product they feel is not working properly.
Although the percentage is incredibly small (less than 1%) it’s still important to know that somebody will take care of any issue.
– Clones
A market developed for products we call Clones which are exact (or almost exact) replicas of Arduino boards with a different branding , i.e. they are usually named with some variation of Ardu-something or something-duino. These products are released according to trademark laws (unless they copy almost exactly our graphics which is not open-source) and have a place in the market.
– Derivatives
A more interesting segment for us is what we call Derivatives. These are products that are derived from the Arduino hardware design but they innovate either by providing a different layout and features often to better serve a specific market. These are the products that have also helped Arduino become so ubiquitous.
There are many examples but I will mention only a couple:
Teensy by PJRC – Paul has contributed a lot of code, bug reports, pull requests and to the discourse in general.
Flora by Adafruit – Limor has contributed over 100 libraries and countless tutorials about Arduino becoming one of the most important members of the Arduino ecosystem.
– Arduino-compatibles
There is also a hazy cloud of products that call themselves “Arduino-compatible” but their actual compatibility is sometimes really marginal.
We go from products that have a semi-compatible port of the Arduino API but use very different processors, to boards that call themselves an “Arduino” just because they have a couple of connectors mechanically compatible with Arduino.
– Counterfeits
Finally there is a category of products that are really detrimental to the whole open-source hardware movement, we call these “counterfeits”.
These are boards that clone the official board including the Arduino branding (logo and board graphics). Since the Arduino graphics is trademarked and we don’t release any of the files, whoever uses our graphics and logo makes a deliberate act of Trademark infringement. These products not only trick people into thinking they are buying an official Arduino (therefore supporting the Arduino project) but they also provide no support. We’ve had many reports of people buying these products and finding out they are damaged but unfortunately for them the manufacturer is nowhere to be found to provide a replacement.
– We love open-source
We believe firmly in open source hardware and we have always systematically released any hardware design and the software needed to reproduce our products. We think this advances the whole community and provides a platform for shared innovation where the advantages are more than the drawbacks, but we also think that Trademark violations are like identity theft: the same way each one of us wants to have the right to own their name we believe we have the right to decide whoever gets to be called Arduino, everything else is right there on Github for anybody to build upon.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Detecting Counterfeit ICs
Dec. 15, 2021
“Fake” chips present a huge issue for manufacturing companies trying to source ICs from non-traditional channels. One tool helps simplify the detection process.
https://www.electronicdesign.com/technologies/test-measurement/article/21185936/saelig-detecting-counterfeit-ics?utm_source=EG%20ED%20Analog%20%26%20Power%20Source&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CPS211208096&o_eid=7211D2691390C9R&rdx.ident%5Bpull%5D=omeda%7C7211D2691390C9R&oly_enc_id=7211D2691390C9R
What you’ll learn:
Why counterfeit integrated circuits are a problem.
Types of, and methods behind, counterfeits.
How you can protect yourself from counterfeit parts.
With the current worldwide chip shortage, manufacturers are desperately scrambling to keep their production lines going for electronics goods and automobiles. One solution many companies are turning to is the so-called “gray market”—non-authorized suppliers of obsolete and excess component stocks. While this can be a quick fix, it presents a problem that’s challenging to detect and eliminate: counterfeit ICs.
For instance, a Massachusetts man was sentenced a few years ago to 37 months in prison for importing thousands of counterfeit integrated circuits from China and Hong Kong, which were resold to U.S. Navy contractors and installed in nuclear submarines. He also sold components to hundreds of other independent distributors and brokers in the U.S. and Europe, and the fake ICs reached even more government contractors and commercial manufacturers.
The counterfeit ICs were marked as originating from over 30 different IC suppliers.
ICs aren’t hard to fake, unlike banknotes. Making “lookalike” parts that resemble real ones takes very little skill. It simply requires finding cheap parts in the same format of package and merely painting new marks on them. This problem has arisen due to the high value of some electronics products, and this issue makes the whole manufacturing chain from assembly house to end-user vulnerable. The number of companies that have been fooled by batches of fake devices is incalculable.
Counterfeiting semiconductors has been a rapidly increasing trend, impacting a wide variety of electronics systems used by a wide gamut of involved parties—consumers, businesses, and military customers. The detection of counterfeit components has become an increasingly important priority for electronics manufacturers and component suppliers worldwide.
The Semiconductor Industry Association has estimated that counterfeit electronic parts have cost manufacturers more than $7.5 billion. Not only are companies suffering losses, delays and inconvenience, their reputations are being sullied because of the presence of counterfeit ICs in the market.
What Are Counterfeit Components?
Counterfeiters use several methods to produce their fake goods:
Empty packages marked to resemble actual ICs.
Cheap ICs re-marked to resemble more expensive ICs.
ICs with similar but poorer specs re-marked to resemble better spec, more expensive ICs.
ICs salvaged from circuit boards.
The most prevalent counterfeiting technique is selling re-badged products. It’s a simple matter to remove the existing mark from a chip package and put on a new logo and part number, or a different brand or a different speed—and then sell the semiconductor to an unsuspecting buyer who has no way of making sure that the product is “real.” Sometimes the chip is merely an empty package with no die inside
It’s true that the finished system would fail before it left the factory. Nonetheless, it still requires expensive investigation and rework, with no replacement part available to replace the bad one, causing the dreaded “Line Down!” But the failure of fake borderline ICs may not occur until the system is in the field, and field repairs can cost 10X as much to fix as those caught before they leave the factory.
Counterfeiting also can occur with chips gleaned from discarded scrap boards. They can be re-marked with a different manufacturer’s logo, inserted into the supply chain, and sold to innocent buyers, who naturally assume that the products are genuine.
Usually, it’s impossible to identify counterfeit components until they’re fitted on a PCB, when the first tests are made on the final product. Failure requires the costly identification of the bad components and then lifting them from all boards in the production line. Complete batches of finished products may need to be recalled to the factory, directly hurting a company’s bottom line.
Technical measures to solve this problem have previously included visual inspection of devices for marking errors, which needs a trained eye for all possible variations in marking. Electronically testing or x-raying every incoming batch is another technique.
Screening
Some distributors have advertised their screening services for verifying components, with a turnaround time of “as little as two days.” That’s unacceptable in many cases. These companies offer techniques such as x-ray, x-ray fluorescence analysis (XRF), decapsulation, heated solvent testing, visual inspection, and solderability testing, resulting in detailed reports—when all that was required was a determination of “is it a good part?” In reality, this approach is only viable for military or large-volume production runs.
One method is to perform a functional test on a sample of the ICs; an example is logic I/O conforming to a truth table. This will detect gross problems, such as an incorrect logical function, or no function at all. However, they will miss the subtle “out of tolerance” issues—tell-tale signs that a component is counterfeit. With older-technology IC families, different speed variants are often available. Conventional testing equipment with this level of speed test capability is extremely expensive.
A tool that can verify the identity of received ICs quickly and economically, using a statistically significant procedure, needs to be suitable for all devices and packages, should be easy to operate, and must give fast “good/suspect/fail” results. An example of such a solution is the ABI Sentry Counterfeit IC Detector, a PC-driven product that can check the validity of parts in seconds.
http://www.saelig.com/product/TSTEQICT001.htm
Simple to use, the tool enables any receiving department to operate the equipment. The analysis takes place in the background, and the operator only sees a simple “Good Device,” “Blank Device,” or “Fail Device” message, with the option to produce a detailed report to send to the supplier.
The ABI Sentry is a benchtop device that uses an advanced form of V-I testing on any IC chip to determine its electrical characteristics or “signature” (Fig. 3). V-I testing applies a voltage waveform between two IC pins and measures how the current drawn changes as the applied voltage varies. This response is directly related to the device characteristic, its internal structure, and manufacturing processes.
Running every possible pin-to-pin combination on the IC under investigation, the device provides a great deal of insight into the IC, more than simple systems that are restricted to testing between pins and ground.
Establishing the Signature
The V-I characteristics captured by Sentry are called PinPrints, which represent the unique signature for a device. Sentry is employed first to test a known-good device and obtain its “gold standard” signature. The subsequent signatures of incoming, unknown chips are compared with the known-good version to check for discrepancies.
Small variations are likely to indicate that the chips are from different manufacturers, or possibly different batches from the same manufacturer. Larger differences, however, suggest that the chips are faulty or counterfeit. Sentry can be customized for each IC type by setting tolerances that define the point at which a tested device is deemed “bad.”
If no reference devices are available, two alternatives could be used. Reference data can be exported from other users’ machines or libraries and imported into the Sentry’s database. Alternatively (and not quite as good), testing can be done across the batch.
A combination of Sentry’s electronic parameter settings (voltage, frequency, source resistance and waveform) generate the “signature” for each pin of the IC being checked. It then compares the unique electrical characteristics of known components and with suspect components. Testing between every possible pin combination is included, maximizing the chances of capturing internal fault conditions. Sentry can quickly detect missing or incorrect dies, lack of bond wires, inaccurate pinouts, and pin impedance variations. Simple pass or fail results are returned after testing, offering a high level of confidence in the authenticity of components.
As parts become increasingly complex, 100% testing becomes burdensome, but testing one or two pieces out of, say, 200 pieces is manageable. Experience has shown that variations arising from a suspect shipment will reveal themselves well before such a test is complete. Nevertheless, if 100% non-destructive testing is required, using a Sentry Counterfeit IC Detector is a workable solution.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Real vs Fake Arduino Test |Arduino Uno
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ERjiYyRpiTk
It’s possible – there are a lot of fakes out there. Maybe you bought a counterfeit Arduino. Was it priced lower that normal? Is it missing the small details that make it a genuine Arduino board? Watch the video to find out if your Arduino is real or fake.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Solar calculators BUSTED!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLTDuGhqE2w
Solar Freakin’ Calculators… open one up and you might be SHOCKED at what you find inside!
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2022/01/02/hackaday-links-january-2-2022/
We got a tip from Mark about some dodgy jumper wires that we thought we should share. Low-quality jumpers aren’t really a new problem, but they can really put a damper on the fun of prototyping. The ones that Mark found could be downright dangerous. He got them with a recent dev board purchase; outwardly, they appear fine, at least at first. Upon closer inspection, though, the conductors have turned to powder inside the insulation. Even the insulation is awful, since it discolors when even slightly flexed. He suspects conductors are actually copper-plated aluminum; check out his pictures below and maybe look through your collection for similarly afflicted jumpers.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The disturbing facts about FAKE and SUBSTANDARD cables – UGLY Twin and Earth, light weight flex
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvJuqgBasuY
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly – coming to an electrical installation near you.
Are all cables created equal? From the outside, they may look similar but we find some shocking discoveries as we peel away the insulation on twin and earth cable (T&E) and artic flexible cables.
How can you trust the cables you use in electrical installations. In this video, you’ll witness some of the tricks disreputable cable manufacturers use to achieve a lower price.
See the difference between the UK manufactured Basec approved cable from Doncaster Cables and an unbranded Basec cable – the country of origin unknown.
======================
00:00 Fake and sub-standard electrical cables
00:23 Why is this cable so lightweight
04:11 Okay it’s we think it’s aluminium and not copper
04:50 Check the number of strands might be missing
05:05 The cost of copper – vs – aluminium
05:30 Sub-standard Twin & Earth cable (T&E)
06:01 High-quality cable should be easy to strip
08:51 Comparing resistance of sub-standard T&E cable
11:00 Checking the copper conductor diameter
13:00 Does the sub-standard cable run hotter
15:20 How to tell if your cable is sub-standard
16:34 Work with a trusted manufacturer
======================
Tomi Engdahl says:
#1029 Fake Op-amps from China
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOC9aj_jtwo
Episode 1029
I got some OP-07 low offset op-amps for a great price. Fact or Fiction?
BTW: I did get a refund.
Viewer comments:
I test every electronic device/part I buy off of EBay – even if it is a USA seller – and I ask EBay for a refund if the parts don’t work in my circuits / tests. EBay will get refunds, although I think they look the other way with large volume sellers from China. EBay makes too much money off of fees. I wish the FTC or an agency of our government would monitor foreign products more closely.
I recently bought a bench power supply kit. It was a nice quality circuit-board, and the parts looked OK apart from the 3 op-amps which were supposed to be TL071′s, but were unmarked. Once built, the kit was behaving strangely, so I suspected the op-amps; replacing them with genuine ones fixed the problem.
Yeah, this happened to the ne5532 I bought from Amazon. According to datasheet the slew rate should be 9V/us. The fakes I received were 2.2V/us. Also, no sign of the input protection diodes. Being Amazon, I’ve been immediately refunded, but I guess the rule with ‘third party vendors’ is that chip markings are just decorations, and have nothing to do with what’s inside the package.
I am more concerned with fake or defective IC sellers in the US. I ordered LT1054 chips from a US seller. Both didn’t work. Wasted time desoldering it. The second one had a different failure. Ordered from China and all the chips tested OK.
I’ve been getting components from the proper suppliers for years. Assorted untested (such as from Poly-Paks of So Lynnfield, MA, and th elike) are for those willing to their own screening, and full price for those who want ‘em screened. But now E-Bay and the like are selling such devices?
Ebay will sell whatever in the world a third party seller wants to sell, as long as it’s not outright illegal.
How sad as I have found the same in most items bought from China. It would seem that to the Chinese market, that money comes first THEN quality and honesty. No honor here …
I’d hardly call it a rip-off. If it looks too good to be true, you KNOW they’re fake.
Chinese parts are hit or miss. I think more often miss. Enjoyed the video. Thanks.
this kinda stuff just pisses me off.
the lack of integrity for Chinese manufactures and vendors is legendary.
and then our lack of pressure to control this behavior or block it at the border is absent.
so we need to add more time and effort into acquiring and testing parts.
who is it good for?
Been there, done that. I only buy nuts and bolts from China now.
Tomi Engdahl says:
How to tell a real opamp from a fake one
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1eY1V3Rx-8
A simple test comparing a real TL074 to a Chinese fake bought from eBay.
BTW, 670kHz maximum frequency may seem low for a real chip but it’s only connected to a single pole 12V power supply. A dual powersupply would give better results.
Viewer comments:
I have always purchased over the years OP-AMPS from various sellers on E_Bay. Lots and lots of them. But guess what! I just made a similar testing rig and tested a huge amount (about 300+) op-amps that I still have and….surprise surprise….only 21 are genuine out of the whole lot. I just cannot believe how naive I was buying such rubbish??? Woawww…!!!! Well, lesson learned and….Never again.
Well you’re not alone in that. I fell into the same trap when I first started out building synthesizer modules. The thing is, the fake ones work just well enough to let you not notice they are fakes. At least with audio circuits. That is until you test them. But sooner or later you learn that if you want good IC’s you have to buy from reputable sources.
You are spot on. From now on: Only reputable sources for any components, not just ICs. I’ve noticed fakes on a lot of electrolytic caps as well as resistors that claim to be low percentage tolerance when in fact they are not, h and medium power high-frequency transistors as well. So… enough is enough. I’m gonna have to bite the bullet and fork out more money for anything that I will buy but with the assurance that I’ll get what I’ll be paying for. Tnx for such an eye-opener video.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2022/02/05/how-to-spot-a-fake-op-amp/
Tomi Engdahl says:
China Export is not CE: a symbol to cause confusion
https://siloscordoba.com/blog/corporate/china-export-is-not-ce-a-symbol-to-cause-confusion/
In recent years we’ve got used to the fact that if a product bears CE mark, it is safe. The reason for this assumption is the goods’ compliance with EU standards. Unfortunately, there exists a much similar mark which the majority of consumers and even sellers understand as CE mark of the European Union. However, this mark symbolizes something quite different.
What’s behind China Export marking?
This mark means that the product was manufactured in China, and means “China Export”. This similarity is not a chance coincidence. It expresses the aggressive approach and is used to confuse European consumers.
The China Export mark is not registered, it does NOT confirm positive test results and is placed by Chinese manufacturers arbitrarily.
There is something that everyone should know about the “official” CE mark. Unlike the a mark given by third party safety laboratories such as UL, the CE mark also does not confirm positive test results as alluded to above. The CE mark is self proclaimed by the manufacturer. If the authorities find a product with a CE mark and decide to inspect it and find that it in fact does not conform to the appropriate standards, they will take action against the manufacturer of that product. However this is only possible in their jurisdiction.
Tomi Engdahl says:
US nuclear power plants contain dangerous counterfeit parts, report finds https://www.theverge.com/2022/2/11/22929255/us-nuclear-power-plants-dangerous-counterfeit-parts-nrc-report
At least some nuclear power plants in the US contain counterfeit parts that could pose significant risks, an investigation by the inspector general’s office of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has found. Those parts “present nuclear safety and security concerns that could have serious consequences, ” says the resulting report published on February 9th.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.iflscience.com/technology/many-us-nuclear-plants-contain-counterfeit-parts-finds-official-report/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Triple trouble – when offshoring goes wrong
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4JtzzFMf50
Two of these 12/24V lithium battery chargers really aren’t! It makes me wonder if they’re part of the reason they were selling off the product these were in at a really low price. (Hi-viz vests with LED strips.)
I wonder what the story behind these is. Were they bought separately for shipping with the product or were they sourced by an offshore manufacturer? Either way, the proper one has been substituted with random look-a-likes that have VERY different circuitry inside and have very little in the way of current limiting. Especially if an attempt is made to use them with 24V as implied on the label.
The product itself has it’s own video. It’s notable for having a three cell 2000mAh lithium battery in thin heat shrink sleeving at waist height on clothing aimed at construction workers.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Little Replacement PSU That Could: Kill A Microsoft Surface And Monitor
https://hackaday.com/2022/02/21/the-little-replacement-psu-that-could-kill-a-microsoft-surface-and-monitor/
Tomi Engdahl says:
The USB-C Connectors You Never Knew You Wanted To Avoid
https://hackaday.com/2022/02/20/the-usb-c-connectors-you-never-knew-you-wanted-to-avoid/
On Tech Twitter, some people are known for Their Thing – for example, [A13 (@sad_electronics)], (when they’re not busy designing electronics), searches the net to find outstanding parts to marvel at. A good portion of the parts that they find are outstanding for all the wrong reasons. Today, that’s a through-hole two-pin USB Type-C socket. Observing the cheap tech we get from China (or the UK!), you might conclude that two 5.1K pulldown resistors are very hard to add to a product – this socket makes it literally impossible
https://twitter.com/sad_electronics/status/1494666768517844993
Tomi Engdahl says:
Dangerous USB phone chargers 11 (fake vs. real)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-p3GXXFfQw
Opening another pair of USB chargers. One is a real Samsung charger, the other is a very cheap fake charger from eBay. Let’s see what surprises and hazards are hidden inside. Including the schematic. Some chargers may not comply with safety regulations, they may cause an electric shock or fire. Their current rating may be fake, the output voltage may be wrong and they can cause electromagnetic interference or damage your devices.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Europe, US warn of fake chip danger to national security, critical systems https://www.theregister.com/2022/03/18/eu_us_counterfeit_chips/
Counterfeiters are making the most of the ongoing electronics supply crunch by peddling sham semiconductors to desperate buyers and it’s caught the attention of governments. In a report out this month, the European Union’s law enforcement agency Europol highlighted the dangers of knockoff semiconductors to critical infrastructure as well as people’s private devices. See also:
https://www.europol.europa.eu/cms/sites/default/files/documents/Report.%20Intellectual%20property%20crime%20threat%20assessment%202022_2.pdf
Tomi Engdahl says:
Trying to buy a microSD card proved to me that Amazon is becoming a scammers’ paradise
By Matt Hanson published 1 day ago
Forget Mos Eisley, Amazon is now a hive of scum and villainy
https://www.techradar.com/news/trying-to-buy-a-microsd-card-proved-to-me-that-amazon-is-becoming-a-scammers-paradise?utm_content=techradar&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_source=facebook.com
Tomi Engdahl says:
Apinaa koijataan.. Kiinassa. CH340 Kopion kopion kopio eiku joo
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=H63T0h4OU40
Kaikkihan tuntee käsitteen että kiina kopiot asioista. Aasiassa pitkään asuneena olen luonnollisesti nähnyt aikas paljon mutta tämä on kyllä uusi leveli mitä en ole nähnyt.. Arduino levyjähän myydään vaikka millä nimillä ja yleensä ne toimii ihan hyvin. Tällä kertaa arpa ei voittanut!! Miksi, katso video niin näet kuinka kiinan poika huijaa muita kiinalaisia lisäämällä asioita
Tomi Engdahl says:
How to spot counterfeit electronic components
https://cdn.baseplatform.io/files/base/ebm/electronicdesign/document/2022/04/How_to_spot_counterfeit_electronic_components___A2_ES.625ee12795815.pdf
Counterfeits electronic components are Electronic components that are misleading as to the origin or
quality relating to the parts. It is possible to counterfeit a certain electronic component and potentially
infringe one’s trademark license rights.
Counterfeit parts often have inferior specifications and quality. They may be a hazard in a critical
system such as an aircraft navigation and life support equipment or space vehicle. The sale in
consumer markets of electronic components making it easier for counterfeiters to integrate inferior
and counterfeit goods into the market.
The Global Chip Shortage has affected our lives more than you think, and it’s not solely due to low
supply. One of the main reasons is very high demand. The demand for electronic products that use
microchips like computers, smartphones, tablets, and even vehicles has skyrocketed in recent
months.
The increased demand from distributors, the manufacturing sector, suppliers, and other legitimate
businesses increased activity for the proliferation of counterfeit components.
Because of the steadily growing demand for such products, criminals have more opportunities to sell
these fake chips with less risk of detection
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2022/05/08/hackaday-links-may-8-2022/
At what point does falsifying test data on your products stop being a “pattern of malfeasance” and become just the company culture? Apparently, something other than the 40 years that Mitsubishi Electric has allegedly been doctoring test results on some of their transformers. The company has confessed to the testing issue, and also to “improper design” of the transformers, going back to the 1980s and covering about 40% of the roughly 8,400 transformers it made and shipped worldwide. The tests that were falsified were to see if the transformers could hold up thermally and withstand overvoltage conditions. The good news is, unless you’re a power systems engineer, these aren’t transformers you’d use in any of your designs — they’re multi-ton, multi-story beasts that run the grid. The bad news is, they’re the kind of transformers used to run the grid, so nobody’s stuff will work if one of these fails. There’s no indication whether any of the sketchy units have failed, but the company is “considering” contacting owners and making any repairs that are necessary.
Mitsubishi Electric admits to faking test data on transformers
https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14604802
Mitsubishi Electric Corp. has confessed to four decades worth of fraudulent testing and improper design of electrical transformers used at nuclear power stations, thermal plants and substations that power trains.
The company, which has been dogged by other revelations of testing fraud over the past year that forced high-level resignations, announced the latest discovery of misconduct on April 21.
The large-size transformers in question were manufactured at the company’s factory in Ako, Hyogo Prefecture.
According to Mitsubishi Electric, it shipped 8,363 transformers from the factory between 1982 and March 2022. About 40 percent of those, or 3,384, were fraudulently tested or improperly designed.
Of those 3,384 problem transformers, 1,589 were shipped within Japan, while 1,795 were sent overseas.
The company has not disclosed the names of clients that received these transformers.
In some cases, the company’s employees falsified figures in quality-testing reports, which said the unit’s internal temperature remained within limits during heat tests. However, the company admitted on April 21 that the temperature actually rose above the limits during these tests.
In other cases, the factory conducted safety tests to see how much voltage the units could withstand but did not meet acceptable test conditions set through international standards or by academia.
The voltage levels of some transformer insulators were also lower than what the company had determined based on international standards.
Investigations will be conducted to see whether the misconduct violated the Electricity Business Law.
The company said the misconduct would not immediately lead to transformer breakdowns or accidents. But it is considering contacting each buyer individually and replacing components if necessary.
Mitsubishi Electric has been embroiled in scandal for many months now over the discovery of faked inspection reports and design errors on other industrial gear it manufactures, from electronic toll collection equipment to air conditioners.
Tomi Engdahl says:
How to spot counterfeit electronic components
https://cdn.baseplatform.io/files/base/ebm/electronicdesign/document/2022/04/How_to_spot_counterfeit_electronic_components___A2_ES.625ee12795815.pdf
Counterfeits electronic components are Electronic components that are misleading as to the origin or
quality relating to the parts. It is possible to counterfeit a certain electronic component and potentially
infringe one’s trademark license rights.
Counterfeit parts often have inferior specifications and quality. They may be a hazard in a critical
system such as an aircraft navigation and life support equipment or space vehicle. The sale in
consumer markets of electronic components making it easier for counterfeiters to integrate inferior
and counterfeit goods into the market.
The Global Chip Shortage has affected our lives more than you think, and it’s not solely due to low
supply. One of the main reasons is very high demand. The demand for electronic products that use
microchips like computers, smartphones, tablets, and even vehicles has skyrocketed in recent
months.
The increased demand from distributors, the manufacturing sector, suppliers, and other legitimate
businesses increased activity for the proliferation of counterfeit components.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Junk I Bought: My PSU Just Won’t Do
https://hackaday.com/2022/05/31/junk-i-bought-my-psu-just-wont-do/
It has a power brick that supplies it with 1 2V at 4.5 A, and over the years this has developed an annoying whine. Something’s loose in the magnetics, and I really should replace it. So off to AliExpress I went, and dropped in an order for a 12 V, 5 A power brick.
It’s No Heavyweight
A PSU brick, marked as 12V 5A
So far so good…
These units are pretty standard, a box about 130 mm by 60 mm with an IEC socket at one end and a trailing cable at the other for the low voltage. I’ve had enough of them pass through my hands over the years to know what to expect, so I was dismayed to find when I received my PSU that it was suspiciously light. 86 g compared to the around 250 g I’d expect, so I began to smell a rat. Time for a teardown, and a descent into the world of small switch-mode mains power supplies.
For A Fake, It Could Be Worse
A small PCB in a large enclosure
… but not so good inside.
On the board were the components I’d expect for a small switch-mode mains PSU. Rectifier, electrolytic capacitor, control chip, opto-isolator, ferrite transformer. It’s a through-hole board, and unlike with some plug-top chargers the designer has given them plenty of space. Flipping it over and there’s a reasonably healthy 6.25 mm of physical isolation between the two sides, with an additional milled slot beneath the opto-isolator. I can’t comment on the quality of the transformer without prising it apart, but maybe it could be a little more chunky.
The board itself could even be reasonable, even if it’s in a flimsy box wired with dubious hair-thin conductors and secured only by a sticky tab. Zooming in on the chip I found a CSC7224, a little 18 W 8-pin DIP. It’s a generic chip that’s available from more than one Chinese manufacturer, and it implements a pretty straightforward switch-mode PSU. It seems to follow the circuit in the data sheet pretty closely except for the mains filter, meaning that it’s probably a working and not scarily unsafe 12 V supply module. If I needed one good for 1.5 A I’d be happy.
So I’ve been taken for a ride by a supplier on the other side of the world, and for your entertainment and edification I’ve turned it into a Hackaday article. Props to AliExpress for this, when I raised a dispute with photo and description of the hardware they did a no-questions refund. What can I take away from this, other than a warning not to play random PSU roulette again? The first thing is that, from the point of view of the manufacturer, it’s too cheap even to be a successful fake product. If I can tell by its weight that it’s fake the minute I pick it up then they’ve failed, so I’m curious as to why they didn’t make it a bit more convincing by putting a bit more weight in it. At least the chip has overcurrent protection built in, so it will simply refuse to serve 5 A rather than burst into flames.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Yksi johdin paljastaa väärennökset
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/13652-yksi-johdin-paljastaa-vaeaerennoekset
Analog Devices on esitellyt autentikointipiirin (Secure Authenticator), joka on yksinkertainen ja kustannustehokas ratkaisu suojata tuotteita väärennöksiltä. DS28E30-piiri liittyy isäntälaitteeseen vain yhden johtimen kautta, joten piirin avulla on helppo lisätä suoja laitteisiin.
Ratkaisu yhdistää kiinteän toiminnon kryptografisen työkalupaketin, joka perustuu alan standardiin FIPS 186 elliptisen käyrän digitaaliseen allekirjoitusalgoritmiin (ECDSA), avainten ja sovellustietojen turvalliseen tallennukseen ja 1-johtimiseen liitäntään.