For decades, consumers could expect their next computer to deliver more power for their money. The AI boom is challenging that expectation and exposing the physical supply chains behind our increasingly digital lives. Since the 1970s, advances in semiconductor technology have made computing more powerful and affordable. 

Component obsolescence is a problem that will not go away for military system designers, especially as they leverage more innovation from commercial semiconductor companies. During a podcast with Daniel Deisz, VP of Design Technology at Rochester Electronics, we discussed the military aftermarket world, component recreation, counterfeit parts, the impact of modular open systems approach (MOSA) strategies on sustainment, and more. 

BANGKOK -- Japan has protested against Chinese controls that will limit its exports of a key chemical used to make computer chips, saying Tuesday that Tokyo is studying the potential impact on Japanese companies.

PETALING JAYA: The seizure of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) chips, including those made by Nvidia, should serve as a major warning sign to Malaysian authorities, according to a criminologist. 

The FBI is offering a reward of up to $150,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Onur Simsek, a Turkish national wanted for his alleged involvement in a sophisticated defense procurement fraud scheme targeting the United States Department of Defense. Simsek has been added to the FBI’s newly established Most Wanted Fraudsters list, which highlights individuals charged with defrauding the American people. 

LOS ANGELES – Two Chinese nationals – one of them an illegal alien – living in the Inland Empire were sentenced to federal prison today for leading a large-scale, trans-Pacific scheme to defraud Apple Inc. through the fraudulent “returns” of thousands of counterfeit iPhones, iPads, and other Apple goods that caused the Cupertino-based technology company at least $16.2 million in losses.

Over the weekend, Amazon significantly raised the prices of its hardware devices, jacking them up by as much as 60% in some cases. The price explosion impacted Fire TVs, Echos, Kindles, and Eeros. 

Taiwanese prosecutors have indicted a senior Nvidia manager and eight others over an alleged scheme that shipped 74 servers containing B300 chips to China via Japan and Indonesia. They are seeking five years for forgery and breach of trust. The first known criminal case against an Nvidia employee over AI chip smuggling has reached indictment. 

The signals have been building for months. Now the numbers confirm it: the electronics manufacturing supply chain is facing renewed and measurable pressure on component and materials availability, and conditions are moving in the wrong direction.

Both chambers of Congress have now passed bills allowing U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to share packing, shipping, and marketplace data with brand owners. On August 7, 2026, the Senate unanimously passed S. 2677, the Grassley-Hassan bill, expanding what information CBP may share with rights holders about suspected counterfeit imports.