The agreement between APDN and SMT follows closely on the heels of the mandate by the Defense Logistics Agency that microcircuits supplied to DLA be SigNature DNA-marked. The mandate appeared at an announcement on the DLA Internet Bulletin Board System on August 7. Tom Sharpe, Vice President of SMT, is a recognized thought-leader of the anti-counterfeiting efforts launched by government and industry. He testified this past November before the Senate Armed Services Committee regarding counterfeit electronic parts in the U.S. military supply chain. He has focused on mitigating the counterfeit threat in high reliability electronics, and established a leading inspection resource to restrict entry of counterfeit obsolete chips. Mr. Sharpe pointed out that the agreement includes, but goes beyond, the parts supplied by SMT to the military. "Our defense and aerospace customers can now engage with assured provenance back to SMT at any points further downstream in the supply chain. The SigNature DNA mark will also assure customers and users downstream that the chips have undergone the rigorous testing and inspection applied by SMT on components before they leave our facility." The agreement comes just as the new federal electronics anti-counterfeiting laws are due to come into effect. In Section 818 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012, the Department of Defense must require suppliers of electronics parts to "monitor and eliminate" counterfeits from the military supply chain. A key milestone is due at the end of this month, when the DoD is instructed to write the new anti-counterfeiting wording into the DFARS (Defense Federal Acquisition Regulations Supplement, the main military procurement document). The APDN-SMT agreement is an effort toward early compliance with that law by an important player in the industry. Sharpe stated: "We take great pride in stepping forward at the beginning of what promises to be a milestone in reducing counterfeit risk to the military and to private industry. We are determined to protect our warfighters by providing the highest reliability in materiel." "I commend the unwavering diligence of the SMT Corporation in their systematic testing, and their first-to-market application of the SigNature DNA Provenance Mark™," stated Janice Meraglia, Vice President, Government and Military Programs at APDN. "Tom Sharpe's willingness to take a proactive stand is in line with the integrity he and his team demonstrate on a daily basis." President and CEO of Applied DNA Sciences, Dr. James A Hayward, called the agreement with SMT "a landmark step, and a model for the industry." Dr. Hayward pointed out that "Provenance Marking," as the company calls its program for SMT, combines with "Authentication Marking," as applied at electronic manufacturers to provide 360 degree, all-around coverage for the industry. Dr. Hayward added: "Together, they form an umbrella protection, which can provide assurance of originality from manufacturers when available, and assurance of provenance in other cases."