Seagate, in collaboration with Malaysian authorities, has initiated a significant operation against a workshop manufacturing counterfeit hard drives. The raid took place outside Kuala Lumpur, where a warehouse was identified as a hub for producing and selling fake Seagate drives. In addition to Seagate-branded products, authorities also discovered drives from Kioxia and Western Digital. These counterfeit drives, which were suspected to have originated from China during the Chia cryptocurrency boom, had been reset to appear new, raising concerns about their potential impact on market integrity and consumer trust.
According to reports, the counterfeit drives had been repurposed through a process that involved resetting their SMART values, cleaning, relabeling, and repackaging them for sale. The workshop, which likely operated as one of many such facilities, employed six workers in these illicit activities. Authorities believe that this operation is only the beginning, with Heise estimating that at least one million of these drives may be circulating in the market. However, the exact number of drives that have been recycled remains uncertain, highlighting the scale and complexity of the problem.
This development underscores the broader implications of the Chia cryptocurrency’s downfall on the hard drive market. During the Chia boom, numerous miners purchased drives, which later became surplus as the cryptocurrency’s value declined. These drives were then sold to workshops, where they were illicitly repurposed to appear new. The raid demonstrates Seagate’s commitment to protecting its brand and ensuring the integrity of its products. The incident also raises questions about the regulatory oversight of e-commerce platforms that facilitate such unregulated activities.