SERVICES

Hardware & Integrated Systems Testing

Uncover hidden threats in IoT and OT hardware, firmware, and embedded components to validate security, integrity, and resistance to supply-chain compromise.

Hardware Security Assurance

OnDefend hardware and firmware integrity testing validates device and component authenticity, identifies supply chain and embedded risks, and detects malicious or unintended behavior that traditional testing misses, including unauthorized or undocumented inbound and outbound communications that could enable backdoor manipulation or data exfiltration. This strengthens system trust and supports alignment with United States cybersecurity expectations and regulatory requirements.

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Hardware Testing Capabilities

Standard Hardware Testing

Standard hardware testing verifies device integrity without teardown by validating components against trusted baselines and identifying common configuration weaknesses prior to deployment, providing foundational assurance and supporting alignment with United States cybersecurity and compliance requirements.

Hardware Breakdown & Unauthorized Chip Transmission Detection

Hardware breakdown, analysis, and validation uses full disassembly and chip-level analysis to identify hidden components, undocumented communications, and supply chain risks that traditional testing cannot detect, delivering deeper assurance of device integrity and trustworthiness.

Firmware Testing

Firmware testing confirms the authenticity and security of device code by extracting and analyzing firmware against trusted sources to detect vulnerabilities, unauthorized modifications, and embedded backdoors, supporting secure deployment and regulatory compliance.

Hardware Systems Tested for Real-World Risk

We assess how effectively your security controls protect applications and software, helping you identify risk, prevent exploitation, and maintain confidence in your security posture.

Operational Technology (OT) & Safety-Critical Systems

Assess hardware and firmware in safety-critical and operational systems to identify risks that could impact physical processes, human safety, system availability, or mission-critical services.

Network, Security, & Infrastructure Hardware

Evaluate infrastructure and security hardware to uncover hidden firmware behavior, undocumented access paths, and weaknesses that could undermine network trust, visibility, or enforcement.

Connected Devices, Endpoints, & Edge Systems

Test connected devices and endpoints to detect firmware vulnerabilities, unauthorized communications, persistence mechanisms, and data exposure risks across user-facing and edge-deployed hardware.

Embedded Platforms & Custom Hardware

Perform deep analysis of embedded and custom hardware to uncover low-level firmware risks, insecure boot chains, undocumented functionality, and embedded control mechanisms.

Point-in-time Hardware Testing Only Finds 1/3 of Your Risk.

OnDefend hardware security testing identifies vulnerabilities, design weaknesses, and supply-chain risks that adversaries exploit to compromise devices, embedded systems, and connected products, including:

Exploitable Vulnerabilities

Exploitable Vulnerabilities

Unpatched or unknown vulnerabilities in firmware, bootloaders, operating systems, and embedded applications that can be exploited using publicly known or custom attack techniques

Insecure Firmware Configuration

Insecure Firmware Configuration

Unsafe firmware settings such as disabled secure boot, weak update validation, exposed debug interfaces, or hardcoded secrets that enable device compromise

Weak Device Identity and Authentication

Weak Device Identity and Authentication

Inadequate device identity protections, weak authentication mechanisms, or shared credentials that allow unauthorized access, impersonation, or device takeover

Exposed Debug and Management Interfaces

Exposed Debug and Management Interfaces

Accessible JTAG, UART, SWD, serial consoles, or management interfaces that allow attackers to bypass controls, extract firmware, or manipulate device behavior

Missing or Ineffective Hardware Isolation

Missing or Ineffective Hardware Isolation

Lack of hardware-enforced isolation between components, processors, or trust zones that enables lateral movement after initial compromise

Outdated or Vulnerable Embedded Components

Outdated or Vulnerable Embedded Components

Third-party libraries, firmware modules, drivers, or chipsets running outdated or vulnerable code that introduces avoidable device and product risk

Privilege Escalation Within Embedded Systems

Privilege Escalation Within Embedded Systems

Weak separation between user, kernel, and trusted execution environments that allows attackers to escalate privileges and gain persistent control

Cryptographic and Key Management Weaknesses

Cryptographic and Key Management Weaknesses

Improper use of encryption, insecure key storage, weak random number generation, or flawed key rotation that undermines device confidentiality and integrity

Continuous Security Inspector Reveals the Rest.

Point-in-time hardware testing cannot account for structural, lifecycle-driven risks that arise from firmware evolution, component substitution, configuration drift, supply chain changes and new interactions between firmware logic, device identities, hardware trust boundaries, and supplier dependencies. OnDefend Continuous Security Inspector (CSI) goes beyond point-in-time testing revealing the remaining two thirds of device & firmware risk.

Emergent Vulnerability Chains and Zero-Day Paths

Emergent Vulnerability Chains and Zero-Day Paths

Multi-stage attack paths formed by interacting low-risk hardware and firmware issues that only surface through continuous adversary simulation

Supply-Chain Compromise and Component Tampering

Supply-Chain Compromise and Component Tampering

Malicious or altered firmware, chips, libraries, or manufacturing artifacts introduced through trusted vendors, tooling, or update pipelines

Stealthy Hardware and Firmware Persistence

Stealthy Hardware and Firmware Persistence

Hidden backdoors, modified boot sequences, or persistent implants embedded within firmware or components that evade detection

Covert Command-and-Control Channels

Covert Command-and-Control Channels

Obfuscated or encrypted communication paths that abuse legitimate device functions or protocols to blend into normal operational behavior

Time-Delayed and Conditional Exploitation

Time-Delayed and Conditional Exploitation

Attack paths that activate only under specific physical, environmental, or operational conditions, making them difficult to detect during periodic testing

Cross-Component and Trust Boundary Abuse

Hidden attack paths that exploit implicit trust between processors, peripherals, firmware modules, or external control systems

Stealth Data Exfiltration Paths

Stealth Data Exfiltration Paths

Covert data leakage techniques using side channels, peripheral abuse, or trusted communication paths to bypass monitoring and controls

Covert Data Misuse and Exfiltration Paths

Abuse of Device Management and Control Planes

Misuse of legitimate device management features, update mechanisms, or recovery functions to enable persistence, lateral movement, and control expansion

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Giving You The Competitive Advantage

OnDefend delivers a decisive advantage over adversaries by combining elite hardware security expertise, embedded systems knowledge, and intelligence-driven validation to expose real-world device, firmware, and supply-chain risk.

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Partners with Yours

Our team partners with yours to gain a deep understanding of your environment and objectives so you receive clear communication, expert guidance, and actionable insight that ensures outcomes align with your security and business goals.

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Explore our comprehensive resource collection to enhance your organization’s security posture and stay ahead of potential threats.

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Hardware Penetration Testing FAQs

What is hardware security testing?

Hardware security testing verifies that a device’s physical components are authentic and untampered, and that no hidden modules or covert communication channels exist. It validates chips, sensors, radios, and board-level behavior.

What is firmware security testing?

Firmware security testing confirms that the code running on a device is authentic and uncompromised. It includes static analysis, dynamic testing, and comparison to trusted vendor releases.

Why is IoT device security testing important?

IoT devices commonly use low-cost components and third-party firmware, which can introduce security risks. Testing identifies vulnerabilities, hidden features, and supply chain issues before deployment.

What threats can hardware and firmware testing uncover?

Hardware and firmware testing can reveal malicious firmware changes, counterfeit chips, covert RF activity, unauthorized sensors, and hidden modifications added during manufacturing or distribution.

How does chip-level activity detection work?

Chip-level detection analyzes communication between components to identify unexpected signals. This uncovers covert radios, embedded sensors, or unauthorized data paths that software testing cannot see.

Which industries benefit most from hardware and firmware security testing?

Organizations that rely on embedded and connected devices, such as healthcare, energy, manufacturing, telecom, technology, and critical infrastructure, gain the most value from hardware assurance.

How are counterfeit or unauthorized components detected?

High-resolution imaging and machine-vision comparison flag undocumented changes, counterfeit chips, or unapproved components across production runs.

How does standard hardware testing compare to full teardown analysis?

Standard testing validates a device non-invasively. Teardown analysis disassembles the device to inspect boards, chips, and embedded components at a deeper level.

How does hardware testing support supply chain security?

Testing validates that devices match trusted baselines and have not been altered during manufacturing or shipping. It identifies tampering, replacements, and undocumented modifications early.

How often should hardware and firmware be tested?

Devices should be tested before deployment, after major firmware updates, and whenever supply chain or vendor changes occur. High-risk environments may require recurring testing.

Which frameworks guide hardware and firmware security testing?

Testing aligns with NIST 8259, NIST 800-193, NIST 800-213, IEC 62443, and UL 2900, and also maps findings to MITRE ATT&CK for adversary relevance.

Can devices be tested without access to source code?

Yes. Firmware can be extracted and analyzed without source code, and hardware teardown does not require vendor documentation.

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Understand your real exposure with guidance from security experts.

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