A Hardware Bill of Materials (HBOM) is a comprehensive, structured inventory that lists all components, libraries, modules, and dependencies—both direct and indirect—that make up a hardware and software application. This “list of ingredients” includes open-source and third-party modules, their versions, licenses, and other relevant metadata.

SPDX supports the collection the collection of information required for comprehensive system auditing to help you answers questions such as:

1. Is this system (computer and software) the one I ordered? Does it have all the correct components?  
2. What is installed? Do all the components adhere to your policies and is it operating as expected?
3. Can you create an amalgamated inventory of all the computers, software, connections and containers within your environment?
4. Can you document all components with a computer including hardware and software trees with relationships?
   1. Can you save the information related to hardware, software, connections, AI, licences, so the information can be shared internally or externally?
5. How do you interlink records and enhance or enrich records with 3rd party data sets?
6. Can you analyze your data to identify vulnerabilities and threats?

Problem: The rise in counterfeit or cloned chips, especially during shortages.
Use Case:

• Semiconductor fabs serialize each chip with a unique ID.
• ID is recorded in a blockchain-based ledger.
• Every actor in the supply chain (distributor, OEM, integrator) scans the chip during transfers.
• At deployment (e.g., military, telecom), the chip is re-verified against the blockchain ledger.
• Shipment detail tracking supports accountability to mitigate the introduction of counterfeit products.

Benefit: Guarantees the authenticity and source of the chip. Prevents High-Security Hardware for Government or Defense Contracts, trojans, and clone components.

Problem: Government systems must be secure and tamper-free.
Use Case:

• Trusted hardware manufacturers use tamper-evident seals and log custody from fab to integrator.
• All hardware is scanned into a digital CoC system, including physical location, date, and authorized personnel.
• Delivery includes verification logs and secure acceptance protocol.

Benefit: Prevents hardware backdoors or supply chain interdiction; supports FISMA and FedRAMP requirements.

Problem: Firmware-level threats are increasingly common in secure boot or TPM modules.

Use Case:

• Secure element manufacturers issue cryptographic attestations of firmware state.
• Every custody handoff (assembly, integration, OS loading) is recorded and checked.
• Upon boot, the system verifies the CoC hash chain before initializing the chip.

Benefit: Detects tampering between fabrication and deployment. Supports Zero Trust architectures.

Problem: Difficulty tracking faulty hardware batches or validating warranty claims.

Use Case:

• Each device is registered with batch number and component IDs.
• Field failures are reported against that registry.
• OEMs trigger targeted recalls and notify affected customers through serial mapping.

Benefit: Faster and more accurate hardware recalls; reduced fraud in warranty claims.