Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1440051
10 SMT007 MAGAZINE I JANUARY 2022 ware attacks worldwide, the concerns now are more than simply data the. Just as with consumer goods, supply chain concerns can easily lead to counterfeiting and cybersecurity issues in electronics manufac- turing. It was reported that the "majority of global businesses believe supply chain attacks can become a major threat within the next three years, with 45% experiencing at least one such attack in the last 12 months. is figure is higher, at 48%, in the Asia-Pacific region, where organisations also are reporting more ransomware attacks and paying out higher ransoms than their global counterparts." Writ- er Eileen Yu put some numbers to the trend: "Worldwide, 96% of respondents that paid the initial ransom had to pay additional extortion fees of $792,493 on average. e report noted that 57% of companies that suffered a ransom- ware attack acknowledged they did not have a defence strategy in place to coordinate a re- sponse. is figure was 53% in Asia-Pacific." 5 In this issue, we bring you several articles on cybersecurity and counterfeiting, including submissions from I-Connect007 columnists Mi- chael Ford and Bill Cardoso, as well as some re- ally practical cybersecurity tips from IT special- ist Divyash Patel. Furthermore, we discuss what you need to know to leverage smart factory of- ferings to better manage supply chain and coun- terfeiting. We share our "man on the street" in- terviews with industry representatives, discuss- ing their take on the challenges and opportuni- ties. We also interview Joel Scutchfield at Koh Young on how new product development is re- sponding to these challenges. And, last but not least, as a special treat, we contacted some of the presenters at the SMTA symposium on Cy- bersecurity and Counterfeiting held earlier this year, and invited them to share their presen- tations here in the magazine. We're proud to bring you four key presentations from Vernon Densler, Eyal Weiss, and David Mills. In the spirit of "forewarned is fore-armed," we hope this issue is informative and help- ful. Our industry is benefitting from a growth period—we're on the offensive again. Let's not forget to play some defense as well. SMT007 References 1. "More than $30 million in fake designer goods seized at ports of L.A. and Long Beach," Los Ange- les Times, Dec. 6, 2021. Article quotes Donald R. Kusser, CBP's port director at the Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex. 2. "How To Spot Counterfeit Goods This Holiday Season," WLNY, Nov. 18, 2021. 3. "Retailers call on Congress to fight online sales of stolen and counterfeit goods," The Hill, Dec. 9, 2021. 4. U.S. Customs and Border Protection, an agency under the Department of Homeland Security. 5. "Businesses fear rise of third-party attacks, as ransomware impact grows," ZDNet, Dec. 7, 2021. Nolan Johnson is managing editor of SMT007 Magazine. Nolan brings 30 years of career experience focused almost entirely on electronics design and manufacturing. To contact Johnson, click here.