FTDI
Future Technology Devices International Limited is a Scottish fabless semiconductor company. It has facilities Singapore, Oregon and China in addition to the UK.[1]It specializes in USB and manufactures various integrated circuits ranging from USB Host Controllers to USB to UART converter chips, multipurpose converters with support for FIFO, JTAG, SPI etc in addition to UART. It also manufactures various cables and adapters, mainly for USB, RS232, UART and RS422.[2]
| Basic information | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1992-03-13 |
| Legal Structure | Private |
| Industry | Semiconductors |
| Also known as | FTDI |
| Official website | https://ftdichip.com/ |
Consumer-impact summary
editFTDI has employed aggressive measures such as bricking or injecting garbage data via undocumented features into users' chips that were determined to be clones or counterfeits by FTDI's drivers. This led to backlash and Microsoft removing FTDI's driver from Microsoft Windows. Eventually, FTDI backed down.[3][4]
Incidents
editDrivers Bricking Chips (2014)
editFTDI pushed an automated driver update via Microsoft Windows Update that targeted the FT232 chipset. The update bricked chips it detected to be counterfeits or clones by setting their PID to 0. Because the chip itself is not something users usually purchase by itself, but rather buy devices which include it, many users were not aware their chip was counterfeit, yet were still affected. The update's INF file included a disclaimer which mentioned that the driver "MAY IRRETRIEVABLY DAMAGE THAT COMPONENT" referring to non genuine components. However, since it was installed through Windows Update, users were not able to see this file. Moreover even standalone chips, are reportedly difficult to tell apart from counterfeits and ensure you're getting genuine chips.[4] This sets a dangerous precedent, because if users start avoiding updates due to mistrust, they may end up vulnerable because of missed security updates.[3]
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Injecting Garbage Data (2016)
editA functionality was added the FTDI driver through Windows Update that injected unwanted garbage data into the device's serial stream. The stream read "NON GENUINE DEVICE FOUND!” Because this was an undocumented functionality and because it is difficult to tell whether or not a chip is genuine, this may have caused issues in chips in all kinds of devices such as medical and industrial equipment as well as Arduino.[4]
Products
editSee also
editReferences
edit- ↑ "Corporate Profile". ftdi. Archived from the original on 21 Jun 2026.
- ↑ "Products". ftdi. Archived from the original on 21 Jun 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Sanders, James (25 Oct 2014). "FTDI uses Microsoft Windows Update to disable devices using counterfeit chips". techrepublic. Archived from the original on 7 Mar 2023. Retrieved 21 Jun 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Benchoff, Brian (1 Feb 2016). "FTDI Drivers Break Fake Chips, Again". Hackaday. Archived from the original on 21 Jun 2026.