Page 46 - Federal Computer Week, January/February 2019

Ideas
Securing the supply
chain with dielets and
diamond dust
Government and industry are exploring novel ways to ensure the integrity of the electronic components used in IT systems
BY DEREK B. JOHNSON
In response to concerns about potential security vulner- abilities in the global electronics and IT supply chain, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is develop- ing technological solutions to the problem of tracking and authenticating computer parts as they are manufactured, shipped and assembled worldwide.
Resold and recycled components degrade the reliability and security of many systems used by the Defense Department, and offi- cials have known about the problem for decades. In 2012, then-Acting Undersec- retary of Defense Frank Kendall directed DOD program and procurement managers to crack down on the problem, with a par- ticular emphasis on electronic parts and components.
However, the increasingly complex nature of the global supply chain means that prima- ry contractors often have difficulty keeping track of the subcontractors they rely on for many products. As a result, no one knows how many government systems have recycled or counterfeit parts.
“Right now, it is really difficult to tell the difference between recycled parts and new parts,” said Serge Leef, program manager of DARPA’s Supply Chain Hardware Integrity for Electronics Defense (SHIELD) program. “They just end up back in our supply chain and get purchased without people really knowing.”
Sensor-laden microchips
SHIELD team members are exploring a novel hardware solution to track and authenticate the integrity of the inte- grated circuits and microchips that are used in virtually all electronic equipment. They are working on a number
of prototype chips called dielets that are no larger than 100 microns — approximately the diameter of a strand of human hair. The dielets can be placed inside electronic devices or attached to individual components.
Parts and components are enrolled in a database as early in the production life cycle as pos-
sible and given a unique ID number that can later be queried using a radio frequency wand. The wand can ping the dielets, which contain a number of passive sensors, for a range of information, including data on temperature changes, light exposure and other signs that a device has been opened or parts have been removed, whether through brute force or more delicate manipulation of circuit boards.
Leef said DARPA designed its dielets to address hardware compromises that stem from economic motivations as well as counterfeiting for intelligence-gathering purposes.
DARPA spent three years researching and designing the underlying technologies for SHIELD, Leef said, and is now testing two prototype dielets. Although the tech- nology was designed with DOD in mind, it could easily be applied to similar problems at civilian agencies and in the private sec- tor, he added.
Rethinking procurement policy
Parallel to DARPA’s activities, the Depart-
ment of Homeland Security and the intelli- gence community are leading efforts to persuade technology companies to fundamentally alter the way they do business so that they can better protect the integrity of their parts
and products.
“Right now,
it is really difficult to tell the difference between recycled parts and new parts. They just end up back in
our supply chain and get purchased without people really knowing.”
SERGE LEEF, DARPA
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January/February 2019 FCW.COM