The somewhat-obscure journal, "CrossTalk, The Journal of Defense Software Engineering," devoted its September/October 2009 issue to resilient software, and engineers or designers involved with embedded systems should read at least the first article, "Considering Software Protection for Embedded Systems." This article covers ways that people can reverse engineer and maliciously attack FPGAs, although the techniques also apply to microcontrollers with internal flash memory. And it suggest ways to protect your intellectual property.

You might know Ramtron International for its ferroelectric random-access memory (F-RAM) devices that rely on ferromagnetic polarization in a thin film of crystalline material to store binary information. But the company has started to expand the reach of the F-RAM technology by including it in radio-frequency identification (RFID) devices, or tags. RFID tags are not new, but the characteristics of F-RAM combined with wireless communications will make them a top contender in applications that go beyond basic product identification and tracking.

How do you protect your products so counterfeiters cannot copy and sell an equivalent product for a lot less money? Counterfeit products – from complete motherboards, to battery packs, to servers – can cause all sorts of problems and tarnish a legitimate manufacturer's reputation.