WASHINGTON -- While the US Department of Defense is acutely aware of the risks of substandard parts breaching its supply chains, the department is limited in its ability to determine the extent to which counterfeit parts are present because it lacks a department-wide definition of the term "counterfeit" and a consistent means to identify instances of suspect parts.

That was the damning conclusion of a recent report issued by the Government Accounting Office. The 35-page report found that, "Almost anything is at risk of being counterfeited, from fasteners used on aircraft to electronics used on missile guidance systems."

The DoD's large network of global suppliers also puts pressure on the system, the auditors said.

At the request of Congress, the GAO examined the DoD's knowledge of counterfeit parts in its supply chain, its processes to detect and prevent counterfeit parts, and commercial initiatives to mitigate the risk of counterfeit parts. GAO's findings are based on an examination of DOD regulations, guidance, and databases used to track deficient parts, as well as a Department of Commerce study on counterfeit parts; interviews with Commerce, DOD, and commercial-sector officials at selected locations; and a review of planned and existing efforts for counterfeit-part mitigation.

The auditors found definitions, where they exist, vary in scope, and that a pair of internal databases set up to track nonconforming parts are not designed to track counterfeits. A third government-wide database can track suspected counterfeit parts, but according to officials, reporting is low due to the perceived legal implications of reporting prior to a full investigation.

While the DoD is in the "early stages" of developing a program to help mitigate the risks of counterfeit parts, it currently lacks policy or specific processes for detecting and preventing counterfeit parts. Existing procurement and quality-control practices used to identify deficient parts are limited in their ability to prevent and detect counterfeit parts in the DoD's supply chain due to lack of training, auditors found.