The RP2350 is an inexpensive microcontroller IC with reasonable performance and some very useful (and somewhat unusual) features in its PIO blocks.
Why wouldn't a person build that into the heart of something important?
Why wouldn't a person build that into the heart of something important?
Because it's inexpensive and not designed to be tamper-resistant. If preventing this type of thing is your goal there are chips out there designed to break irrepairably if tampered with.
The goal of the bounty is to demonstrate that they aren't just a company making toys for hobbyists, and that they can be relied upon by the industry for basic IoT-level products. They are saying "it won't be completely trivial to extract your proprietary firmware", not "use this chip for your next HSM".