Thousands of networking products are produced abroad in the Far East each year and flood the world market looking identical to authentic products. The scale of the problem was recently highlighted in the case of a New York hardware reseller who netted $10m passing off as genuine bogus Cisco networking equipment. His two and a half year prison sentence and $2.2m fine shows how seriously this problem is taken and the cost of dealing in bogus kit.

However, the huge potential reward is a big temptation to some unscrupulous dealers.

It is often not possible to establish whether hardware is the real thing by simply looking at them, or indeed by using them, as the fake branding and functionality is so convincing. This causes problems for both the hardware manufacturers and their potential customers, as very often the product's origin only becomes evident when a warranty issue arises, leaving customers angry and disgruntled and manufacturers frustrated and helpless - not to mention out of pocket. In fact, millions of pounds are lost every year through fake product flooding into the European and US markets - both in terms of revenue for manufacturers and of productivity, resale value and associated costs for users.

But it transpires that the risks to purchasing bogus kit could be even greater. There is a potential to configure networks to spy on businesses from the very heart of their information systems and it has emerged that, incredibly, counterfeit networking kit was being used by the US military which could have posed a possible significant national security threat.

So how do you avoid buying phoney kit?

You can buy through approved or certified partners. These are dealers who comply with the relevant conditions. In addition, you can expect that the manufacturer will fully support the products you buy from here. There is a drawback with these approved partners: they are usually the most expensive place to buy product.

However, it is still possible to obtain networking products at favourable prices, yet still benefit from professional support and services - look for resellers who can offer both.

There are very professional organisations who deal in IT hardware who are not necessarily restricted by the limiting terms of business imposed by manufacturers. These companies can supply perfectly genuine and legal hardware at much lower prices which, for a large organisation, can make an enormous impact on the IT budget and even on profitability. Additionally, a few companies offer refurbished hardware which is very much less expensive, but in most circumstances as fit for purpose as new hardware, fully functional and supported.

Many organisations are needlessly missing out on high quality products at a fraction of what they have paid, simply because the fear of bogus equipment is so great. There can be significant cost benefits to using a hardware dealer who is not necessarily authorised and who can supply a mix of new and refurbished genuine networking kit.

Choosing a supplier who is prepared to support the products he sells, and who offers services around those products, is a good way to establish a company's credibility. An all singing, all dancing website does not prove a company has integrity, but a long-established website can be significant and this can be verified through Google. Customer recommendation is a good indication of whether a company does sell genuine product. In addition, look for a dealer who sells a range of networking products and is completely independent. You are more likely to be sold products that are perfect for the job you need them to do rather than products the dealer happens to sell.