The Navy Bought Fake Chinese Microchips That Could Have Disarmed U.S. Missiles

Military | 207437 hits | Jun 29 12:56 pm | Posted by: Scape

Last year, the U.S. Navy bought 59,000 microchips for use in everything from missiles to transponders and all of them turned out to be counterfeits from China. Wired reports the chips weren't only low-quality fakes, they had been made with a "back-door

Comments

by saturn_656
Wed Jun 29, 2011 8:35 pm
Wired reports the chips weren't only low-quality fakes, they had been made with a "back-door" and could have been remotely shut down at any time.

The People's Republic, at it again.
by andyt
Wed Jun 29, 2011 8:39 pm
I would blame the US military for buying those chips in the first place. You'd think they would have more security around something involving nukes.
by GreenTiger
Wed Jun 29, 2011 9:08 pm
"andyt" said
I would blame the US military for buying those chips in the first place. You'd think they would have more security around something involving nukes.

I would have to agree. If I were procuring for the US Military I would be very reluctant to buy chips from a potential enemy. I would prefer to get them from a country that is either friendly or at least neutral to us.
by saturn_656
Wed Jun 29, 2011 9:15 pm
Apparently foreign chip makers are often better at making cheap microchips and U.S. defense contractors are loathe to pass up the better deal.

I doubt the USN purchased the chips directly from China, my guess would be the chips came from one or more US defence contractors that was looking to cut some corners and procured some cheap silicon from the PRC.
by DrCaleb
Wed Jun 29, 2011 9:28 pm
"saturn_656" said
Apparently foreign chip makers are often better at making cheap microchips and U.S. defense contractors are loathe to pass up the better deal.

I doubt the USN purchased the chips directly from China, my guess would be the chips came from one or more US defence contractors that was looking to cut some corners and procured some cheap silicon from the PRC.

Probably correct. It's sad, because Military grade electronics are built differently for a reason. They use different substrates that can handle higher and lower temperature variations than standard electronics - and cost more because of it.

The US used to have some enviable integrated circuit fabrication technology. Now it's the Germans, or south Asia.
by UDPvideo
Wed Jun 29, 2011 9:53 pm
Military grade are more expensive, i use some when i build audio amplifier.

http://www.dscc.dla.mil/programs/milspe ... IL-STD-202

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