Counterfeiting

When I think of counterfeiting I think of people trying to fake new money. However, there are many other types of counterfeiting going around town. One of these contains the business of fake computer chips, routers and computers. People have become so smart and intelligent that these things are easy to replicate and make into a black market business.

Fake gear costs the information technology industry an estimated $100 billion a year, according to the National Electronics Distributors Association. This gear that is replicated can be used for tasks as varied as automotive navigation, medicine dispensing, and intelligence gathering.

This offense is a direct correlation to the technology that has been developing in today’s world. More and more people are intelligent enough to think of ways to make money even if it is against the law. These serious offenses can be considered acts of terrorism if they are used against the military like Ehab Ali Ashoor was convicted of in January. He was convicted of purchasing and selling of Cisco parts that were intended for use by the Marine Corps.

Although it is very difficult to check the reliability of products that are in the market the government has established several different methods to test the products against the “black market.” These tests include the test with acetone to see if the chip would decay the use of the microscope to see minor details and several other different ways to see discrepancies in real and fake products.

If not taken care of this industry of counterfeiting may get out of hand fast as the technology develops. The technology has to be countered by different organizations to stop it.

Here is a link a website for more information: http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/feb2010/tc20100228_486251_page_2.htm