Fighting Electronic Counterfeit with Blockchain

Electronics systems are an irreplaceable part of our lives. They help our professional as well as personal lives.
Entire cities are built on electronic systems, the power grid, and satellite communication. While software of
electronic systems has always been on focus, the hardware is mostly ignored. But the hardware of many
electronic systems in the infrastructure of a city is the most under threat as it is not often updated. So how can
blockchain benefit for electronics? Can blockchain for electronics supply chain integrity help? Indeed,
blockchain-based certificate authority framework can be used to manage electronic chip identification (ECID),
transaction times, etc. Recycling, remarking, cloning, and overproduction are all mitigated threats that can be
avoided with a centralized block chaining technology.

Blockchain for electronics supply chain integrity is one way to address all the integrity concerns. In the previous
few decades, the business model of the semiconductor industry has changed. While in the past, the design,
fabrication, and testing phases were completed by one entity, now there are fabless design houses that outsource
manufacturing to external foundries. The participants of the electronics supply chain can be classified into: IP
owner/foundry (fab), distributor, PCB assembler, system integrator, end user, and electronics recycler.

One of the leading threats to the industry are the counterfeit electronic components that plague the supply chain
management. All the above listed entities like the PCB assemblers and electronics recyclers need to be trusted
so that end users can verify the authenticity of the electronics that they have purchased or use. So how can we
use blockchain for electronics supply chain integrity?

We assume that all entities involved can list all information in a trusted and secure database. Also, we assume an
end user would be able to look at the information to verify authenticity without being privy to any secret data.
All data that falls outside the framework can be seen as untrusted.

Counterfeit electronic chips do not get introduced at any one stage but at multiple stages in the supply chain
management. They can be introduced by untrusted distributors or the PCB assembler, foundry, or system
integrator. So, a blockchain-enabled electronics supply chain becomes important. Blockchain for electronics
supply chain integrity enhances the supply chain integrity of various, if not all, commodities. It can be applied to
the electronics supply chain management.

However, it is important to note that the electronics industry or semiconductor industry has some unique traits
that cannot be seen in other industries, like the food industry. We cannot, for example, evaluate the integrity of
electronic products by looking at shipping time like we do for food products. Nor can we check temperature. We
cannot also authenticate electronics by their packaging or appearance. Counterfeit chips are so sophisticated
these days that it becomes difficult to differentiate real and counterfeit chips, especially by simply looking at the
package. Recycled or remarked ICs are even more of a problem.

However, blockchain-enabled electronics supply chain helps to track, verify and accept or deny a single
transaction. Electronics can be kept track of throughout the supply chain management process and hence, it
becomes easy to verify the source and authenticity of an electronic chip. Each electronic chip must be assigned a
unique ID (UID) for tracking purpose. The unique electronic chip ID (ECID) can be used for this purpose. It can
be used to identify the chip as it comes marked on all chips, regardless of producer. The iPhone, for example,
uses an ECID. When the chip carries an ECID, it can be tracked for its entire lifetime.

Let’s say, the owner of the chip decides to send it to recycle. Now, the chip is marked as e-waste in the
blockchain-enabled electronics supply chain. So now, any other device that is found with the same EID, or this
device itself, can be classified as counterfeit, recycled, remarked, overproduced, or cloned.

For such a system to work, all participants and shareholders in the supply chain management need to have
access to the database. This will help record the ECIDs of Integrated Chips (ICs). However, many design houses
like to keep the data of their ECIDs that they produce, private. If the ECID is not bought directly from the
company, and bought from a third-party working with the company, it might become difficult for a user to
check the authenticity of the chip. Let’s say an assembler, who is using various chips from various companies,
needs to use chips from a third-party website. It becomes difficult for them to sit and identify the authenticity of
each chip from different sources. These limitations imply that blockchain for electronics supply chain integrity
needs more thought.
There are, however, many advantages to integrating the blockchain system into the supply chain of the
electronics industry. In fact, blockchain-enabled electronics supply chain is the way forward as many other
industries have accepted this route as well.