FBI Busts Cisco Hardware Pirates

The FBI has given a few details of an investigation launched after it was revealed that US government departments spent $3.5 million on over 3, 500 pieces of pirated Cisco hardware.

It was egg-on-the-face time for the US government after it was revealed that they’d spend $3.5 million on more than 3,500 pieces of pirated Cisco hardware. The items were branded Cisco but hadn’t been made by them. After it was discovered that the parts were fake, the FBI launched Operation Cisco Raider to bring the criminals behind the operation to justice.

They certainly succeeded, obtaining 10 convictions and a total of $1.7 million in fines, much to the gratification of Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher, who said:

"Counterfeit network hardware entering the marketplace raises significant public safety concerns and must be stopped. It is critically important that network administrators in the private sector and government perform due diligence in order to prevent counterfeit hardware from being installed on their networks."

However, that’s not necessarily the end of the story. At an briefing yesterday, the FBI accidentally revealed that it had concerns that Trojans might have been embedded in the fake routers that could present a threat to national security. What will be done about that wasn’t stated.