That counterfeit products are finding a way into society, from medicines to auto parts, designer bags to videos, and yes, throughout the electronics supply chain, is commonplace news of late. We’ve seen the statistics and heard the horror stories: Equipment that performs below par, or fails altogether; tainted or nonfunctioning drugs. Counterfeiting can put personal health and safety at risk, not to mention the hurt it can put on company revenues, which can then trickle down to our job security.

For a sense of the scope of the problem, last November and December alone, over 350,000 counterfeit ICs were stopped at U.S./EU borders. One estimate put the loss in revenue to semiconductor manufacturers in the hundreds of millions of dollars per year. In most cases counterfeit simply fool the buyer. But in some cases, the intent is more menacing, and the counterfeiting actions are purposefully engineered to do harm.

The response may have been slow at first, but it’s gathering steam. Late in 2007, the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) fashioned an anti-counterfeiting trade agreement designed to stem the flow of fake products into consumer electronics. Participants include the U.S, Canada, the EU, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand and Switzerland. A task force is now working on measures to stop counterfeiting including ways to encrypt chip packages to prevent remarking.

The buyer most likely to be intentionally impacted by sinister counterfeit electronics is the military. In March, in a follow-up to a 2005 report to Congress by the National Research Council (NRC), the Defense Department took action to develop a long-range strategy to address the need for trusted components. A task force comprised of military agencies, the National Security Agency and the State Department recommended the DoD implement a program to ensure a trusted source for all electronic components, from the IC to the PCB. This is a change for the DoD because previously, PCBs were not considered a critical component in military hardware.

There has been a program in place for ICs, called the Defense Trusted Integrated Circuit Strategy (DTICS). The DTICS looks to trusted suppliers to lessen the risk of IP loss, counterfeiting, poor quality or loss of supply. One upcoming action for the DoD is to extend the DTICS program to cover PCBs. Another includes modifications to MIL-PRF-31032 to include a definition of trust requirements. In both programs, suppliers will need to apply for trust accreditation to supply PCBs for secure defense systems. These actions will help reduce risks posed by tampering or counterfeiting of PCBs, according to the DoD.

One of the key actions the DoD will take is to ensure the military has access to current printed circuit board technology. The mechanism suggested by the NRC to accomplish this task was to “establish a competing network of shops that can be trusted to manufacture PCBs for secure defense systems.” The NRC report went on to specify that these shops be globally competitive to ensure technology competency and that the DoD buy sufficient quantities of PCBs annually to create the critical mass needed to sustain the “trusted manufacturing base.”

A secondary benefit of the status for the PCB is an increased awareness by military and government of its importance within an electronics system. With the NRC report and subsequent DoD implementation, the PCB has migrated from commodity to critical in terms of military purchases. In acting on the NRC report recommendations, the DoD will need to “foster new PCB design and manufacturing technology.” This means we can expect continued support for joint government/industry programs through DARPA and the Focus Center Research Programs that fund technology advancement in the area of electronics. The funding, a fraction of what is really needed to keep pace with technology demands, serves as at least minor recognition that the PCB is fundamental to the success of electronic devices we have all come to rely on. Read the DoD report in full at pcdandf.com/cms/DoD_mar08_report.

Join us at PCB East on May 11-16 in Tinley Park, IL, for a weeklong conference and two-day exhibition. We have lots of new courses to boost your PCB design and fab knowledge and expertise (pcbeast.com/conf). Back by popular demand, “FREE Tuesday” will kick off with the “Next Generation EDA Tools” panel session that includes presentations by leading EDA tools suppliers. Keynoter Emad Isaac of The Morey Corp. will focus on how to share information up and down the chain, with an end-goal of improved design layout and manufacturability. And that evening, meet authors like Charles Pfeil and Clyde Coombs at a book signing as part of a hosted networking opportunity. See you there!