In October 2026, software developer Brandon Thomas attracted attention when he announced that he had used Anthropic’s Claude Opus 5.5 to create open-source alternatives to seven Adobe applications, including Photoshop, Illustrator, and Premiere.
As Ars Technica reported, Thomas described these as “clean-room replacements.” In other words, he aimed to reproduce the software’s appearance and functionality without having access to Adobe’s original source code.
The applications are still far from finished. But the example illustrates an important development: in many cases, AI is making it much faster and cheaper to reproduce existing software functionality.
What does this mean for you if you’re developing innovative electronic products?
If a competitor obtains your firmware, or the Gerber files used to manufacture your PCB, how much easier could AI make it to understand and reproduce your product?
The answer depends on the complexity of your technology and the protections you have put in place. However, the barriers to reverse engineering are changing, and hardware companies need to take that seriously.
Let’s look at what can be copied, how AI changes the risks, and what you can do to protect your intellectual property.
1. How AI Is Making Firmware Reverse Engineering Easier
Firmware often contains some of a product’s most valuable intellectual property: proprietary algorithms, control logic, calibration methods, and functionality developed through months or years of engineering work.
Traditionally, someone attempting to reverse engineer firmware would extract its binary code and analyze it using specialized tools such as Ghidra or IDA Pro.
These tools can translate machine instructions into something resembling readable programming code. However, interpreting the results requires considerable expertise.
AI-assisted reverse engineering is making that process faster.
LLMs can help analysts:
- Identify the likely purpose of unfamiliar functions.
- Interpret decompiled code and suggest meaningful names.
- Trace communications protocols and software behavior.
- Identify potentially valuable or security-sensitive routines.
Cisco Talos explored this approach in its research, Using LLMs as a Reverse Engineering Sidekick, explaining that:
“LLMs may serve as powerful assistants to streamline workflows”
The research focused on malware analysis, but similar techniques can help with firmware.
There is an important limitation: AI does not magically recover the original source code, comments, or engineering decisions. Its explanations can also be wrong.
Nevertheless, it reduces the time and specialist knowledge required to understand unfamiliar software. That potentially makes copying certain product features more economical.
Note: this is written as of early Nov. 2026, and LLMs may get better fast.
2. Can Someone Reconstruct Your PCB From Gerber Files?
Firmware is only one part of the problem.
When you manufacture a printed circuit board, you usually provide Gerber files and other manufacturing information to your PCB supplier.
Some product developers assume these files are relatively safe because they are not the original editable PCB design files.
Unfortunately, that assumption is questionable.
Gerber files describe the physical layers of a PCB. Combined with drill files and other manufacturing data, they can reveal:
- Copper traces, pads, vias, and board geometry.
- Much of the electrical connectivity.
- Approximate component placement.
- Information useful for reproducing the board.
In fact, Altium documents a process for reconstructing a PCB design from Gerber or ODB++ manufacturing files.
However, the reconstructed design will not necessarily contain the original schematic structure, component libraries, engineering rationale, or complete bill of materials.
Reconstructing a PCB is not the same as reproducing a functioning, validated product. But it can give a potential competitor a substantial head start.
This is why Gerber files, BOMs, programming images, and production test information should all be treated as valuable intellectual property.
3. Which Parts of Your Product Really Need Protection?
Before investing in expensive security measures, identify what gives your product its competitive advantage.
For some companies, this will be firmware containing unique algorithms. For others, it may be calibration procedures, proprietary electronic designs, or manufacturing know-how.
Consider three questions:
- What information would help a competitor reproduce our product?
- Who currently has access to that information?
- What would happen commercially if that information were copied?
A relatively simple consumer accessory probably does not justify the same security investment as a sophisticated medical device or industrial controller.
The objective is not necessarily to make copying impossible. It is to make it sufficiently difficult, costly, and time-consuming that competitors cannot easily exploit your investment.
4. Technical Measures That Make Firmware Copying Harder
There are several ways to protect firmware and hardware IP, although the right combination depends on your product architecture.
Select security-capable microcontrollers. Look for built-in firmware readout protection, debug-interface locking, secure boot support, and protected storage for sensitive keys.
Protect firmware stored externally. If your firmware resides in external flash memory, appropriate encryption and secure key management can help prevent someone from simply reading and analyzing it.
Secure firmware updates. Signed updates help ensure only authorized firmware can run. Anti-rollback protection can prevent devices from reverting to vulnerable versions. Secure boot verifies authenticity and integrity, but does not, by itself, guarantee confidentiality.
Remove unnecessary access points. Production debug interfaces, test commands, and diagnostic functions should not remain freely accessible in finished products.
Consider physical protection selectively. Multilayer PCBs, less accessible connections, and certain packaging choices can make hardware analysis harder. However, epoxy, hidden components, and removed markings are not foolproof defenses.
STMicroelectronics’ Introduction to Security for STM32 MCUs provides useful technical guidance on these protections.
The important point is to make these decisions early. Retrofitting security after selecting your microcontroller and finalizing your design can be difficult or expensive.
For more practical manufacturing approaches, see our earlier article on firmware protection in manufacturing at scale.
5. Your Manufacturing Arrangements Matter Just as Much
Even strong technical protection may accomplish little if you hand your unprotected firmware and complete design information to an unsuitable manufacturing partner.
One approach is to separate responsibilities.
For example, your PCB assembly supplier could manufacture the boards, while firmware programming takes place through a separate, controlled process.
You can also provide suppliers only the information they need to perform their work.
We have discussed this approach previously in IP Protection for Manufacturers: Keep Component Suppliers in the Dark.
Other possibilities include keeping particularly valuable software functions on controlled servers, restricting access to calibration procedures, and using device-specific credentials.
None of these arrangements is suitable for every product. They introduce costs, operational complexity, and potential problems during debugging.
You need to balance protection with the practical requirements of manufacturing and supporting your product.
6. Don’t Forget Contracts and Supplier Controls
Technical measures are only part of a sensible IP protection strategy.
Your agreements should establish who owns the design and firmware, who may access them, whether subcontracting is permitted, and what happens when the manufacturing relationship ends.
For projects in China, properly drafted NNN agreements and manufacturing contracts may provide additional protection.
Agilian’s article on creating a manufacturing contract in China to protect your IP explains these considerations in more detail.
However, contracts cannot replace careful decisions about which suppliers you work with and how much proprietary information you share.
7. Why Manufacturer Selection Matters for Protecting Your IP
Choosing the right manufacturing partner is also an important part of protecting your IP, because who has access to your firmware and design information can be just as important as the technical safeguards you put in place. Consider these points:
- In theory, neither the PCB assembly supplier nor the final assembly supplier would receive the firmware. They would be provided with testing jigs to confirm they had done a good job.
- In reality, for debugging purposes or simply to know how to run functional tests, some parties in your supply chain will probably need access to the firmware.
- If you work with companies that are selling similar products to yours, it is a high risk, as they (or a related party) might copy your product and become your direct competitor.
- If you pick a general contract manufacturer that is not working on other products sold in your market or an adjacent market, the risk is much lower.
This last point is particularly important. You should consider not only a manufacturer’s technical capabilities and prices, but also its existing customers, business interests, and potential conflicts.
For more on managing information throughout your supply chain, see our discussion on protecting IP when sourcing components from overseas suppliers.
8. The Goal Is to Make Copying Difficult, Not Impossible
So, as we can see, AI is making certain reverse engineering tasks faster and more accessible today. Meanwhile, PCB manufacturing files and physical products can already reveal considerable information to determined competitors.
There is no single technical measure or legal agreement that eliminates these risks.
If your business is developing innovative electronic products, the sensible approach is to combine appropriate hardware security, controlled access to firmware and design information, well-structured manufacturing arrangements, and careful supplier selection.
Protect your most valuable intellectual property without making your product unnecessarily difficult or expensive to manufacture.
Ideally, these decisions should be made before your design is finalized and before you share sensitive information with potential manufacturing partners.
Need Advice on Protecting Your Product’s IP?
Protecting firmware, PCB designs, and other valuable intellectual property requires more than technical safeguards. The way you structure your supply chain and select manufacturing partners also matters.
Sofeast helps companies developing and manufacturing electronic products in China assess risks, evaluate suppliers, and establish appropriate controls.
Contact our team to discuss your project and how we can help protect your IP throughout development and manufacturing.
