Security researchers from Neodyme tackled the Potensic Atom 2 drone during a 2025 IoT security study in Munich. Their goal was to dump the firmware for reverse engineering, a critical step in finding vulnerabilities. The team explored several methods, including downloading encrypted updates and searching for debug interfaces, but ultimately chose a more hands-on approach.

After identifying the main board and its components, including a HiSilicon SoC and MXIC NAND flash, they physically removed the NAND chip. This process involved desoldering a chip glued with epoxy, a deliberate choice by the manufacturer to deter tampering. The researchers then mapped the chip's SPI communication protocol to prepare for reading its contents directly.

With the NAND chip connected via tiny copper cables, the team prepared to extract the raw firmware data. This foundational work is the first part of a two-part series investigating the drone's software and remote control. The findings will reveal potential backdoors and vulnerabilities in a consumer device that shares design elements with popular DJI models.