The chip will still stand out like a sore thumb in QUALITY ASSURANCE REVIEW of the product.
Just because this guy can add it to the board does NOT mean the $2 chip can do a damn thing! Being able to place a chip on the motherboard and doing it so it cannot be found are two entirely different things. A video QA scan of that hacked board, something every manufacturer does, would red flag that board immediately. I could spot it with my bare eye as something not designed to be on the board even if they had not put a red circle around it.
[A video QA scan of that hacked board, something every manufacturer does, would red flag that board immediately. I could spot it with my bare eye as something not designed to be on the board even if they had not put a red circle around it.]
“something every manufacturer does”
Only for high volume stuff. I have had to fight to get X-ray, clamshells, and boundary scans for every board that I’ve been part of qualifying over the last 20 years.
Due to volumes of 1000 or less a year on things like MRIs, CTs, etc the cost is too high for the business to justify. I work in a regulated industry and later stage testing in a higher level assembly is considered acceptable - though I have been able to show time and time again that it does not provide anywhere near full test coverage.