A hardware authenticity verification system includes a hardware element having a hardware address. A digital signature generator is included to create a digital signature of the hardware address of the hardware element. A memory element stores the digital signature of the hardware element. A software program is included to compare the digital signature of the hardware element to a known value.If the digital signature of the hardware element matches the known value, the user may be granted read and write access to all memory locations within the memory element, including a location in which the hardware address is stored. On the other hand, if the hardware address of the hardware element does not match the known value, the hardware element will not properly function, because the manufacturer's software program is configured to not load on the hardware element if the hardware address of the hardware element does not match the known value.