US makes big counterfeit hardware bust

The Department of Homeland Security said that between May and June of this year, customs officials uncovered more than 420,000 pieces of networking equipment and hardware components.

The DHS said that many of the networking components were generic equipment which had been printed with brand-name manufacturer's logos on them. Officials also seized a number of counterfeited integrated circuits destined for use in computing devices.

In total, the department estimates that it seized some $1.3 million worth of equipment from 11 different US ports of entry. If the gear had made it into the retail market, sellers could have generated up to $3.5 million in revenues.

"Like other counterfeit products, counterfeit network hardware and ICs are not built up to the standards of genuine equipment,” said Daniel Baldwin, an assistant commissioner for the US Customs and Border Patrol's office of international trade.

"These products have a higher failure rate than genuine equipment, and often fail upon installation, or weeks or months after installation."

"One threat that these fake products pose is that when they fail, the entire system in which they are embedded in can also fail, crippling vital infrastructure and products on which we depend."

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