Cisco is a key supplier of electronic hardware to US government departments, including the military and justice departments, which have in the past purchased parts believed to be produced by Cisco but claimed to have been counterfeited and of lower quality than they should have been.
Speaking to NextGov Patrick Finn, Cisco senior vice president for the public sector said: “There are rogue partners out there that represent themselves as Cisco partners and they are not.
“We are working with the customer to ensure that when they buy a piece of Cisco equipment it is a piece of Cisco equipment.”
He added that some of the forgeries were coming from China and that the company was working hard through its supply chain business to tackle these counterfeit parts.
In October, research firm IHS the number of fake electronic parts being sold to the US government had increased by 63% over the past 10 years.
