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Counterfeit component risk and bad security for an assembled IoT device are two separate issues. Sourcing components on Amazon in the first place is ludicrous t

by rfrank 10y ago

Counterfeit component risk and bad security for an assembled IoT device are two separate issues. Sourcing components on Amazon in the first place is ludicrous to me, to be honest, and I'd be shocked if any reputable EMS companies do it. As an aside, a couple years ago I saw some guys from NXP do a talk on component counterfeiting. People will apparently remove them from dead boards, shave a few microns of material off the top of their legitimate capacitors, change their reported value, and resell them. Pretty nuts.

st3v3r 10y ago
"Sourcing components on Amazon in the first place is ludicrous to me, to be honest" I'm a hobbyist, I have Amazon Prime, and I would like to use components in a project. What's ludicrous about that?
- rfrank 10y ago
  The "reputable EMS companies" part was an important qualifier. But, as the guy I originally replied to demonstrates, counterfeit risk is a lot higher. I order parts for my projects from Digi-Key.
- pjc50 10y ago
  It's fine as a hobbyist, but once you're making 1000+ then the only way Amazon (which doesn't do volume pricing I think?) can be cheaper is by selling you fakes. As a hobbyist I buy stuff from ebay, amazon, and aliexpress all the time, but not for anything mains-powered or safety-critical.