Predict the Risk. Prove the Part. A Unified Counterfeit Mitigation Strategy

Lam Nguyen [chipsID LLC]

Abstract:

Counterfeit electronic components continue to pose a significant risk to supply chains, impacting reliability, safety, and brand integrity across industries. Traditional inspection methods, often reliant on visual checks, datasheet comparisons, and limited electrical testing of the Device Under Test (DUT). This approach can consume substantial time while still yielding low confidence in authenticity. This gap highlights the need for a more robust, data-driven, and collaborative approach. Integrating data intelligence with the use of a verified golden sample or exemplar provides a transformative solution that significantly elevates inspection confidence.

A key evolution of this approach is collaborative intelligence: a growing database built from authenticated samples across multiple programs and organizations. This shared foundation accelerates decision-making during supply disruptions, and raises consistency across organizations facing the same part-level risks. The differentiation lies in its ability to deliver forensic-grade proof, not surface-level inspection, establishing gold standards while supply is healthy and providing the technical evidence base to identify suspect parts when sourcing extends into higher-risk channels.

The combination of golden samples and data intelligence shifts counterfeit mitigation from a reactive, labor- intensive task to a proactive, high-confidence process. It reduces inspection time, increases accuracy, and provides defensible evidence for quality decisions. Ultimately, this integrated methodology not only protects the integrity of electronic components but also ensures that organizations can deliver reliable products with greater speed and assurance in an increasingly complex global supply chain.

Biography:

Lam Nguyen is the Founder and CEO of chipsID, a technology startup focused on delivering advanced engineering solutions to prevent and mitigate counterfeit electronic components across the entire lifecycle, from development to end-of-life. The company is also building a collaborative golden sample database designed to help organizations maintain precise inspection control down to the die level, ensuring both authenticity and quality of components.

Lam brings over 20 years of experience in the defense industry, specializing in Reliability and Component Engineering for both shipboard and airborne systems. As a reliability engineer, he has led critical efforts including Failure Modes, Effects, and Criticality Analysis (FMECA), reliability prediction and maintainability assessments, development of Reliability, Maintainability, and Availability (RMA) program plans, and management of Failure Reporting and Corrective Action System (FRACAS) databases.

In his role as a component engineer, Lam has handled comprehensive responsibilities such as part documentation and creation, Bill of Materials (BOM) lifecycle analysis, root cause investigations, and identification of alternate or secondary sources to address obsolescence challenges driven by Diminishing Manufacturing Sources and Material Shortages (DMSMS). He has also conducted detailed reviews of inspection and test reports to support counterfeit mitigation efforts amid ongoing supply chain constraints.

Driven by a commitment to national security, Lam is dedicated to applying innovative technology to solve complex engineering challenges. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and is passionate about advancing data-driven approaches that strengthen supply chain integrity.

Dr. Diganta Das

For more information or questions regarding the technical program (including Professional Development Courses), contact the Conference Chair, Dr. Diganta Das

Kristin Nafstad

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