Embodiments of the present invention provide an approach for protecting electronic devices against the use of unqualified and/or unauthorized (e.g., “grey market”) hardware components. Specifically, in a typical embodiment, a hardware component that a user is attempting to use with an electronic device will be detected. Then, the device information associated with the hardware component (e.g., serial number, vital product data (VPD), etc.) will be identified from the hardware component (e.g., as stored therein).