Just as all politics is local, all reporting comes to us through the lens of the reporter.
In this case I was going for some background on logistics issues caused by Hurricane Helene (beyond possibly crippling the entire chip industry) when this story popped up.
From SupplyChainBrain, October 3:
Recent deadly explosions of pagers and walkie-talkies used by members of Hezbollah in Lebanon have left 37 individuals dead and around 3,000 more injured. While details remain uncertain about the exact causes leading up to the explosions, the conversion of everyday devices into miniature explosives has resulted in anxiety about the looming prospect of “supply chain warfare.”
This example of the weaponization of the supply chain highlights the importance of supply chain trust. But even less dramatic examples show that building a trusted and secure end-to-end electronics ecosystem is a national security priority.
For example, when it comes to semiconductor manufacturing, the U.S. accounts for only around 12% of the world’s manufacturing capacity (a decrease from 37% in 1990), while 75% of semiconductor manufacturing is done in Asia. Semiconductors are important because they are the brains powering many of the devices that we use on a daily basis, like our computers, washing machines and many other items. Around 40% of the total cost of a new car is due to the various electronics integrated within it. Emerging artificial intelligence applications use specialized and powerful chips called graphics processing units (GPUs) that are currently in high demand. While the U.S. only makes 12% of the world’s semiconductors, it consumes around 25%, resulting in an imbalance between supply and demand.
Such an imbalance is problematic. The highly complex electronics supply chain makes traceability difficult, and presents plenty of opportunities for malicious tampering of components and assemblies along the way. One issue is counterfeit electronic components, which, once within the supply chain, can be difficult to identify. Tampering is also a potential problem, such as in the case of a tiny chip, approximately the size of a grain of rice, covertly inserted into server motherboards that allowed for unauthorized access. Hardware security is an increasingly important aspect of cybersecurity, and electronics can be the target of malicious actors looking to disable systems and steal data....
....MUCH MORE
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