Is Xenophobia justified for military electronics?

Q

Quiller

New Member
I don't know where this thread belongs... but general Strategic defense seems to be the spot. And I know I risk some sort of rule violation... but c'mon, ignoring significant strategic issues due to political correctness has the potential to get a lot of military people killed. Read "fathers, mothers, sons, and daughters killed."

There is growing alarm about counterfeit computer and electronic products getting into the military food chain. This is absolutely intolerable and should be an immediate national security issue for ANY military.

The latest revelation is that the supposedely highly impregnable PA3 computer chip, programmable by the BUYER, has been found to have trojan horse backdoors deliberately built into it by its suppliers. Okay... I'm risking a ban here... all made in CHINA. This is absolutely intolerable.

From this day forward, crucial military electronics should be, must be, fabricated in allied countries of origin. In other words.... Russia should not rely on outside manufacturers for their chips placed in missiles and planes... they shouldn't buy American chips. Duh! The US, Britain, and western countries should not buy chips made in countries that have a reason to be a competitor, militarily or economically. This just makes good sense in today's C3 environment.

COST IS NOT THE ISSUE ANYMORE. Sorry for shouting, but this is about lives.

Am I paranoid or do the rest of you agree this is a MAJOR national security issue for your respective countries?
 
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Q

Quiller

New Member
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #3
My2Cents said:
It is a commercial grade, not military grade, chip. However it is of a type that is present in much of the COTS hardware. The problem also seems to be a design debugging feature, not a deliberate attempt at espionage.

It also may or may not be the Chinese, the original paper apparently does not say.

See: Errata Security: Bogus story: no Chinese backdoor in military chip
Click to expand...
If that story was in error, then I certainly regret referring to it, however the question remains where are military grade chips manufactured? I still suggest each nation or group of allies would be well served to design and manufacture such electronics under their direct control and not farm it out. This should be the credo for all military organizations regardless of what country they serve.
 
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