How Cisco is trying to keep NSA spies out of its gear
We know from the Snowden files that the NSA, through interdiction programmes intercepts transport of network equipment to secretly install spying software / hardware and then pack it all up again as if nothing happened. [1]
The problem with Cisco is that
▻http://www.infoworld.com/article/3006213/security/how-cisco-is-trying-to-keep-nsa-spies-out-of-its-gear.html
Despite being one of largest sellers of routers and networking equipment, Cisco doesn’t have a single factory¨. Its products — at least the physical ones — are totally outsourced, and it has some 25,000 suppliers.
This makes it complicated to control the whole supply chain in order to make sure its integrety remains intact.
This is why they
Early next year, Cisco plans to open a facility in the Research Triangle Park in North Carolina for the program, called the Technology Verification Service. Interested customers will have to pay for the service, which is also subject to U.S. export control regulations.
▻http://www.cisco.com/web/about/doing_business/trust-center/technology-verification.html
Cisco’s Technology Verification Service helps customers review and test Cisco technology, including hardware, software, and firmware. You can access, review, and test source code and other intellectual property within a dedicated, highly secure facility at a Cisco site.
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[1] ▻https://www.eff.org/files/2015/01/27/20150117-spiegel-supply-chain_interdiction_-_stealthy_techniques_can_crack_some