Knockoffs and ''intelligence gaps''
By Charles Miller

A decade or more ago, I read a news report discussing how counterfeit auto parts had long been a problem, and how aviation components were also being counterfeited.

The article explained that low-quality fakes of certain very expensive aircraft components could be easily ordered from China and other Pacific Rim countries. The counterfeit parts were indistinguishable from the genuine parts, at least until they failed, sometimes with catastrophic results.

I looked for that article to give proper attribution but could not find it. I remember reading that some of the counterfeit helicopter parts had allegedly been found in a warehouse in Quantico, Virginia, where the US Marine Corps stores parts for the president’s aircraft. Today, when those spare helicopter parts are ordered, a Marine accompanies the order, never letting it leave his sight from the time it is shipped from Sikorsky Aircraft until it is safely under 24-hour guard in the secure warehouse. No one without a “yankee white” security clearance is allowed to touch Air Force One or Marine One. It is distressing that such extreme measures must be taken to protect the integrity of some replacement parts.

The rest of us do not have those kinds of resources. So, when counterfeit brake shoes end up on our cars and wear out prematurely, there is nothing we can do. Readers by now must be wondering why I have gone so far afield, but this does relate to computers.

An internal Federal Bureau of Investigation presentation states that counterfeit Cisco routers imported from China may cause unexpected failures in American networks. The equipment could also have had hidden backdoors built into it through which an attack could be made on the internet. Such a “backdoor” could conceivably permit someone to remotely signal the router to shut down or corrupt communications.

Recently, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) location at Los International Angeles Airport suffered a failed router, which crashed their computer network. The problem delayed 20,000 passengers, in part due to the hardware failure and in part attributable to management’s poor reaction and lack of planning.

The FBI is taking the situation seriously, but until something goes very wrong the general public will not take much notice of this issue. The FBI states that China has counterfeited Cisco Systems network routers and may be using the equipment to penetrate various foreign government and private sector computer networks. According to authorities, the counterfeit equipment also could be used to “gain access to otherwise secure systems” and to “weaken cryptographic systems.”

US authorities have already seized some 400 counterfeit Cisco Systems knockoffs including routers, switches and PC interface cards. Among the many intended end users were the US Naval Academy, an electric utility and the defense contractor Raytheon.

According to these authorities, there are “intelligence gaps” concerning why the Chinese made the counterfeit equipment. It could have been for simple profit or, more sinisterly, part of a state-sponsored operation to intentionally sabotage the internet.

Military and defense officials strongly suspect the latter. There is little doubt that some future confrontation will involve attacks on the infrastructure of the internet.

Charles Miller is a freelance computer consultant, a frequent visitor to San Miguel since 1981 and now practically a full-time resident. He may be contacted at 044-415-101-8528 or email FAQ8 (at) SMAguru.com.

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