Reverse engineering is an expert research method applied to finished devices with the goal of fully understanding their design, operational logic, and creating documentation based on this knowledge or solving different issues. In the current environment, this service has become a key tool for technological sovereignty, directly addressing the challenges of sanctions and broken supply chains.
This is not mere copying but a comprehensive effort that enables:
- Ensuring Import Substitution: To recreate or develop an analog of unavailable equipment using a domestic component base.
- Recovering Lost Documentation: To gain a complete understanding of a product when the original design and schematic documentation is missing, lost, or classified.
- Identifying Vulnerabilities and Undocumented Features: To analyze a device for software and hardware vulnerabilities, as well as undocumented functionalities.
- Extending the Lifecycle of Systems: To adapt, modernize, and repair critical equipment, including obsolete or discontinued models.
Key Stages and Areas of Work
The electronics reverse engineering process is a multi-stage analysis where each phase informs the next.
| Work Stage | Primary Tasks and Methods | Goal and Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Schematic Analysis | Visual and microscopic examination of the board, component identification (including specialized ICs with non-standard markings), X-ray tomography for analyzing inner layers of multilayer boards, recovery of schematic diagrams and trace routing. | Complete restoration of the device’s design and schematic solutions, understanding the logic of its hardware operation. |
| 2. Firmware and Logic Research | Extracting firmware from protected microcontrollers (using methods like glitch attacks, vulnerability analysis, etc.), disassembly, algorithm analysis, and work emulation. | Recovery of the device’s operational logic and communication protocols, preparation for developing proprietary software or modifying existing software. |
| 3. Vulnerability Research | Analyzing firmware code for backdoors and implants; testing hardware resilience to fault injection; analyzing network interfaces and communication protocols; searching for undocumented functions. | Producing a device security report, providing risk mitigation recommendations, and enhancing the protection of the developed analog. |
| 4. Preparation for Import Substitution | Sourcing domestic or accessible analog components; designing and testing a PCB prototype; creating a complete package of design and software documentation (technical specifications, schematics, firmware). | A ready, verified solution for organizing independent repair, production, or deep modernization of equipment. |