A lot of the technology that we and our government use everyday is manufactured in foreign countries. This puts us at a huge security risk. Some hardware manufactures have engaged in counterfeiting to either obtain more money than an item is worth by putting a well-known brand on counterfeited parts or even worse the fake parts are actually designed to spy.
Two years ago the FBI seized 76 million dollars in Cisco Networking equipment that may have had a back-door that the Chinese were able to access. A number of government agencies purchased the equipment through an authorized Cisco vendor, however the vendor purchased the equipment from a high-risk Chinese supplier.
China is still the largest source of counterfeit or pirated goods in The United States. Last year U.S. Customs seized $1.1 billion in fake or stolen goods that were imported from China alone. It is a dangerous world in tech when you cannot trust your hardware.
