From consumer electronics PoV, this is a complex and brittle measure; for simple on-board microcontrollers, write-protect could be established with a basic e-fu

From consumer electronics PoV, this is a complex and brittle measure; for simple on-board microcontrollers, write-protect could be established with a basic e-fuse. But even with e-fuses, we're talking fractions of a cent per unit, which adds up at scale - there will always be a cut-off point where a company will pursue margins instead. Meanwhile, exploding pagers.