Counterfeit products are a routine threat for the electronics industry. However, the more sinister specter of an electronic Trojan horse, lurking in the circuitry of a computer or a network router and allowing attackers clandestine access or control, was raised again recently by the FBI and the U.S. Defense Department.
The new law enforcement and national security concerns were prompted by Operation Cisco Raider, which has led to 15 criminal cases involving counterfeit products bought in part by military agencies, military contractors and electric power companies in the United States. Over the two-year operation, 36 search warrants have been executed, resulting in the discovery of 3,500 counterfeit Cisco Systems network components with an estimated retail value of more than $3.5 million, the FBI said.
The FBI is still not certain whether the ring's actions were for profit or part of a state-sponsored intelligence effort. The potential threat, according to the FBI agents who gave a briefing at the Office of Management and Budget on Jan. 11, includes the remote jamming of supposedly secure computer networks and gaining access to supposedly highly secure systems. Contents of the briefing were contained in a PowerPoint presentation leaked to a Web site, Above Top Secret.
A spokesman for Cisco said it had investigated the counterfeit gear seized by law enforcement agencies and had not found any secret back door.
"We did not find any evidence of re-engineering in the manner that was described in the FBI presentation," said the spokesman, John Noh. He also said the company believed that the counterfeiters were interested in copying high-volume products to make a quick profit. "We know what these counterfeiters are about," Noh said.
Catherine Milhoan, a spokeswoman for the FBI, said it was not suggesting that the Chinese government was involved in the counterfeiting ring.
"We worked very closely with the...
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