Reverse engineering (also known as backwards engineering or back engineering) is a process or method through which one attempts to understand through deductive reasoning how a previously made device, process, system, or piece of software accomplishes a task with very little (if any) insight into exactly how it does so. Depending on the system under consideration and the technologies employed, the knowledge gained during reverse engineering can help with repurposing obsolete objects, doing security analysis, or learning how something works.
Although the process is specific to the object on which it is being performed, all reverse engineering processes consist of three basic steps: information extraction, modeling, and review. Information extraction is the practice of gathering all relevant information for performing the operation. Modeling is the practice of combining the gathered information into an abstract model, which can be used as a guide for designing the new object or system. Review is the testing of the model to ensure the validity of the chosen abstract.Reverse engineering is applicable in the fields of computer engineering, mechanical engineering, design, electronic engineering, software engineering, chemical engineering,and systems biology.
Overview
There are many reasons for performing reverse engineering in various fields. Reverse engineering has its origins in the analysis of hardware for commercial or military advantage.However, the reverse engineering process may not always be concerned with creating a copy or changing the artifact in some way. It may be used as part of an analysis to deduce design features from products with little or no additional knowledge about the procedures involved in their original production.
In some cases, the goal of the reverse engineering process can simply be a redocumentation of legacy systems.Even when the reverse-engineered product is that of a competitor, the goal may not be to copy it but to perform competitor analysis.Reverse engineering may also be used to create interoperable products and despite some narrowly-tailored United States and European Union legislation, the legality of using specific reverse engineering techniques for that purpose has been hotly contested in courts worldwide for more than two decades.
Software reverse engineering can help to improve the understanding of the underlying source code for the maintenance and improvement of the software, relevant information can be extracted to make a decision for software development and graphical representations of the code can provide alternate views regarding the source code, which can help to detect and fix a software bug or vulnerability.
Frequently, as some software develops, its design information and improvements are often lost over time, but that lost information can usually be recovered with reverse engineering. The process can also help to cut down the time required to understand the source code, thus reducing the overall cost of the software development.Reverse engineering can also help to detect and to eliminate a malicious code written to the software with better code detectors.
Reversing a source code can be used to find alternate uses of the source code, such as detecting the unauthorized replication of the source code where it was not intended to be used, or revealing how a competitor’s product was built.That process is commonly used for “cracking” software and media to remove their copy protection, or to create a possibly-improved copy or even a knockoff, which is usually the goal of a competitor or a hacker.
Malware developers often use reverse engineering techniques to find vulnerabilities in an operating system to build a computer virus that can exploit the system vulnerabilities. Reverse engineering is also being used in cryptanalysis to find vulnerabilities in substitution cipher, symmetric-key algorithm or public-key cryptography.
There are other uses to reverse engineering:
Interfacing. Reverse engineering can be used when a system is required to interface to another system and how both systems would negotiate is to be established. Such requirements typically exist for interoperability.
Military or commercial espionage. Learning about an enemy’s or competitor’s latest research by stealing or capturing a prototype and dismantling it may result in the development of a similar product or a better countermeasure against it.
Obsolescence. Integrated circuits are often designed on proprietary systems and built on production lines, which become obsolete in only a few years. When systems using those parts can no longer be maintained since the parts are no longer made, the only way to incorporate the functionality into new technology is to reverse-engineer the existing chip and then to redesign it using newer tools by using the understanding gained as a guide. Another obsolescence originated problem that can be solved by reverse engineering is the need to support (maintenance and supply for continuous operation) existing legacy devices that are no longer supported by their original equipment manufacturer.
The problem is particularly critical in military operations.
Product security analysis. That examines how a product works by determining the specifications of its components and estimate costs and identifies potential patent infringement. Also part of product security analysis is acquiring sensitive data by disassembling and analyzing the design of a system component. Another intent may be to remove copy protection or to circumvent access restrictions.
Competitive technical intelligence. That is to understand what one’s competitor is actually doing, rather than what it says that it is doing.
Saving money. Finding out what a piece of electronics can do may spare a user from purchasing a separate product.
Repurposing. Obsolete objects are then reused in a different-but-useful manner.
Design. Production and design companies applied Reverse Engineering to practical craft-based manufacturing process. The companies can work on “historical” manufacturing collections through 3D scanning, 3D re-modeling and re-design.
Reverse engineering is the act of dismantling an object to see how it works. This is primarily done to analyse and gain knowledge about the way something works and often it’s used to duplicate or improve an object. Many things can be reverse engineered including software, products, physical machines and even military technology.
Reverse engineering can obviously be used to copy other peoples products but ethically design companies.The only time we would use reverse engineering is where the client already owns the design and intellectual property and in those cases there’s no issue of using reverse engineering and often it can reduce overall costs and time to develop a better product.
Reverse engineering is specific to object that is being performed. No matter the object type, there are 3 general steps that are common to reverse engineering efforts. These include:
• Information extraction
• Modelling
• Review
Lets look at these in a bit more detail.
Information Extraction
Study the object that is being reverse engineered and remove and extract the information about it’s design and examine that to determine exactly how all the components of a product fit together. In product reverse engineering specifically, dimensions, tolerance fits and assembly techniques are often the main areas you want to study. Once you have all that collected information, it’s then used to create a conceptual model.
Modelling
Often using 3D computer aided design software and the purpose of this step is to take all the information that was specific to the original and put it into a new general model that can be used to guide the design of new objects or systems.
Review
Is the final step and this often revolves around testing various different scenarios maybe in the computer aided design environment or by 3D printing you can test, fit and purpose in the real world environment and then you can manipulate these prototypes to confirm the design intent and reengineer the original product to now be better. It is often used for product improvement. This is the key driver in most cases. Firms involved in product design and manufacturer the need for constant development and evolution is simply part of operating in any competitive market.
The main goals of reverse engineering the context of product improvement are:
• Reducing manufacturing cost
• Refining features for improved usability
• Improving product performance and durability
• Replacing a product with a new updated version.
By simplifying a product its cost can potentially and significantly be reduced whilst also improving its performance.
How can you use reverse engineering to save yourself thousands of pounds? Well you can do that by ensuring all the lessons learnt in developing your previous product are then captured before you then develop a new product. Then if you’ve got issues with your previous products like customers have had parts broken over time, things that they have complained about in reviews, then you can reverse engineer the real product but then improve those areas which will then give you a much better product overall. That will be significantly cheaper than starting from scratch.
Reverse engineering is the process of analyzing and understanding the design, structure, and functionality of a product or system by working backward from its final form. It involves taking apart an object or software to uncover its inner workings and understand how it was created.
Reverse engineering has been around for centuries in various forms. However, it gained significant popularity during the 20th century with technological advancements and the rise of industrialization.
In the early days, reverse engineering was primarily used in fields like manufacturing and engineering to understand how machines and mechanical systems operated. It allowed engineers to study existing products to improve upon them, create compatible parts, or develop similar products.
During World War II, reverse engineering was crucial in examining captured enemy technologies to gain a strategic advantage.
With the advent of computers and software, reverse engineering shifted towards understanding and modifying software code. In the 1970s and 1980s, organizations began reverse engineering proprietary software to create compatible versions or discover vulnerabilities and security flaws. This led to the development of ethical hacking and security testing methodologies, where experts would examine software to identify weaknesses that malicious actors could exploit.
Recently, reverse engineering has become more prevalent as both hardware and software have become increasingly complex. It is now commonly used in various industries, including automotive, aerospace, electronics, and consumer goods.
However, it’s important to note that while reverse engineering itself is legal, using it to infringe on intellectual property rights, such as copying patented products or proprietary software, is illegal in many jurisdictions.
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