Pues claro, con la diferencia de los pic que eso lo hace al configurar tu codigo y los atmel lo hace el software programador. ejemplo AVRStudio 4
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Flash Security
To safeguard sensitive data, Atmel FlashVault code protection enables on-chip flash to be partially programmed and locked, for secure on-chip storage of software intellectual property. FlashVault code protection can carry software such as a math library or an encryption algorithm to potentially untrustworthy environments where the rest of the source code can be developed and debugged. All AVR microcontrollers contain lock mechanisms to prevent reading and copying the program stored in on-chip Flash.
Saludos