Brandwatch Technologies

While battling counterfeiters is nothing new for famous jewelry makers and popular video game companies, fake components have become a significant challenge for high-end electronic manufacturers, directly impacting NASA and the U.S. Department of Defense. At this year’s NASA Project Management Challenge, presenters documented how counterfeit parts have impacted NASA’s and the U.S. military’s products and programs to the tune of higher project costs, reduced performance, product failure and extensive delays. In 2009, a NASA probe project was delayed nine months and exceeded its budget by more than 20 percent, partly because of a counterfeit part. According to BrandWatch Technologies, a global leader in brand security and product authentication solutions, the problem extends beyond NASA’s dollars and timelines; risking personal safety, diminishing confidence in U.S. aerospace programs, and impacting the businesses of legitimate component manufacturers.