Federal Computer Week – (International) Cyber era brings new kinds of supply-chain threats. Problems in the Defense Department‘s supply chain are not a new issue, however, the prevalence of digital systems brings a newer kind of threat: one that can be tiny in size but huge in potential impact. It is the risk of electronic components that have been altered to digitally infiltrate U.S. defense systems. The deputy assistant secretary of defense for manufacturing and industrial base policy admitted that Pentagon officials have seen cases of chips with built-in back doors that could allow system access for espionage or data theft.
Source: http://fcw.com/articles/2012/09/27/dod-supply-chain-cyber-era-problems.aspx