86 PCB007 MAGAZINE I JANUARY 2019
forces when we wanted, assemble them where
we wanted, and operate how we wanted.
Today, every domain is contested—air, land,
sea, space, and cyberspace."
In June 2016 (and as amended August 2018),
the U.S. Secretary of Defense established
the Printed Circuit Board and Interconnect
Technology Executive Agent (PrCB EA) via
DoD Instruction 5101.18E
[4]
with an original
National Academy charter to develop a
competitive network of trusted suppliers.
To this end—and in a collaborative effort
between IPC, the PrCB Executive Agent (NSWC-
Crane), DoD, and other government and
industry partners—IPC-1791 was developed
to complement and expand the integrity
assurance offered by the Trusted Access
Program Office (TAPO) for microelectronics
to address integrity assurance vulnerabilities
related to the design, fabrication, and assembly
of printed boards with initial emphasis on
defense requirements.
The IPC-1791 (August 2018) standard,
"Trusted Electronic Designer, Fabricator and
Assembler Requirements" provides minimum
requirements, policies, and procedures
for printed board design, fabrication, and
assembly organizations and/or companies to
become trusted sources for markets requiring
high levels of confidence in the integrity of
delivered products. These trusted sources shall
ensure quality, supply chain risk management
(SCRM), security, and chain of custody (ChoC).
Expect to hear a lot about the IPC-
1791 standard at IPC APEX EXPO in San
Diego (January 26–31). If your company is
involved in support of military electronics
manufacturing, I would highly encourage you
to attend to learn more.
In closing, I have had the pleasure and
honor to serve on both the National Defense
Industrial Association (NDIA) Executive
Order 13806 Electronics Working Group and
the IPC Trusted Supplier Task Group over the
past two years as many of these initiatives and
standards have evolved. Serving with many
others from the electronics industry, DoD,
Commerce, and beyond, I have developed an
incredible respect for all principals involved,
and have witnessed first-hand their hard work,
leadership, deep thinking, and unwavering
dedication to providing a framework to
protect our nation's most sensitive defense
information.
Electronics, and the associated electronic
manufacturing supply chain, are key
components of all military systems. As such,
our industry has a responsibility to both
embrace and solve for the challenges associated
with secure management of the vast amount
of sensitive technical data that flows through
our organizations' networks and within our
supply chains.
Our nation's security depends on the
electronics industry performing at a high-
level regarding cybersecurity, and there is
compelling evidence to suggest that the
ability of your company to continue to support
DoD electronics manufacturing also depends
upon it.
PCB007
References
1. Nissen, C., Gronager, J., Metzer, R., & Rishikof, H. "Deliver
Uncompromised: A Strategy for Supply Chain Security and
Resilience in Response to the Changing Character of War."
MITRE Corporation, August 2018.
2. Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition
and Sustainment, and the Office of the Deputy Assistant
Secretary of Defense for Industrial Policy. "Assessing and
Strengthening the Manufacturing and Defense Industrial Base
and Supply Chain Resiliency of the United States: Report to
President Donald J. Trump by the Interagency Task Force in
Fulfillment of Executive Order 13806." September 2018.
3. United States Department of Defense. "Summary of the
2018 National Defense Strategy of the United States of America:
Sharpening the American Military's Competitive Edge." 2018.
4. Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition
and Sustainment. "DoD Directive 5101.18E: DoD Executive Agent
for Printed Circuit Board and Interconnect Technology." June
12, 2016.
John Vaughan is VP of Zentech
(Baltimore, Maryland) and is a
widely recognized subject matter
expert (SME) in military C5ISR
electronics. To read past columns
or contact Vaughan, click here.
