diff --git a/Makefile.rules b/Makefile.rules
index e1606496c7..8765a05776 100644
--- a/Makefile.rules
+++ b/Makefile.rules
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ cmd_flat_to_obj = $(CC) -T $(out)/firmware_image.lds -nostdlib $(CPPFLAGS) \
 cmd_ec_elf_to_flat ?= $(OBJCOPY) --set-section-flags .roshared=share \
 				-O binary $< $@
 cmd_elf_to_signed ?= sudo $(SIGNER) --key=util/signer/$(3) \
-	--input=$< --format=bin --output=$@.signed $(SIGNER_EXTRAS) \
+	--b --input=$< --format=bin --output=$@.signed $(SIGNER_EXTRAS) \
 	&& sudo chown $(shell whoami) $@.signed && mv $@.signed $@
 cmd_elf_to_dis = $(OBJDUMP) -D $< > $@
 cmd_elf_to_hex = $(OBJCOPY) -O ihex $< $@
diff --git a/util/signer/codesigner.cc b/util/signer/codesigner.cc
index a2a840509b..f489851ee0 100644
--- a/util/signer/codesigner.cc
+++ b/util/signer/codesigner.cc
@@ -297,6 +297,7 @@ void usage(int argc, char* argv[]) {
           "--input=$elf-filename\n"
           "--output=output-filename\n"
           "--key=$pem-filename\n"
+          "[--b] ignored option, could be included for forward compatibility\n"
           "[--cros] to sign for the ChromeOS realm w/o manifest\n"
           "[--xml=$xml-filename] typically 'havenTop.xml'\n"
           "[--json=$json-filename] the signing manifest\n"
@@ -313,6 +314,7 @@ void usage(int argc, char* argv[]) {
 int getOptions(int argc, char* argv[]) {
   static struct option long_options[] = {
       // name, has_arg
+      {"b", no_argument, NULL, 'b'},
       {"cros", no_argument, NULL, 'c'},
       {"format", required_argument, NULL, 'f'},
       {"help", no_argument, NULL, 'h'},
@@ -330,7 +332,7 @@ int getOptions(int argc, char* argv[]) {
       {0, 0, 0, 0}};
   int c, option_index = 0;
   outputFormat.assign("hex");
-  while ((c = getopt_long(argc, argv, "i:o:p:k:x:j:f:s:H:chvr", long_options,
+  while ((c = getopt_long(argc, argv, "i:o:p:k:x:j:f:s:H:bchvr", long_options,
                           &option_index)) != -1) {
     switch (c) {
       case 0:
@@ -338,6 +340,8 @@ int getOptions(int argc, char* argv[]) {
         if (optarg) fprintf(stderr, " with arg %s", optarg);
         fprintf(stderr, "\n");
         break;
+      case 'b':
+        break;
       case 'c':
         FLAGS_cros = true;
         break;