What Traditional Testing Actually Covers
When organizations run hardware security testing, they usually focus on what they can see and control.
That means checking for things like hardcoded passwords, weak firmware, or backdoor access. It also includes how the device connects to cloud apps and identity systems.
All of that still matters, but it’s only part of the picture.
Take Five
Aaron Rosenmund, Managing Director of Tradecraft & Programs at OnDefend, shares a quick five-minute overview of where traditional hardware security testing falls short, including how attackers take advantage of the global supply chain.
The Problem: You Are Not Testing the Full Story
Here is where things start to break down.
Most hardware is not built in one place under your control. It moves through factories, suppliers, and shipping channels before it ever reaches you.
Traditional hardware security testing starts too late in that process.
By the time the device shows up, the risk may already be built in.
A Simple Example That Gets Complicated Fast
Let’s say you are deploying something like a solar inverter.
It connects to your physical infrastructure and also reports back to a cloud platform. You monitor it, manage it, and trust it to work.
Now imagine someone inside the manufacturing process decided to add a small chip to that device.
Without advanced hardware testing like what our team of testers does at OnDefend, you would never know it’s there.
When Hardware Is Compromised on Purpose
This isn’t about accidental bugs or misconfigurations. It’s about hardware that is intentionally modified to give someone access after the hardware reaches its intended destination.
That extra chip could allow someone to monitor activity, collect data, or even shut the device down at a critical moment. Most important to note, it would not rely on your network to do it.
The Part Most Teams Miss: Hidden Communication
One of the biggest gaps our team at OnDefend finds in standard hardware security testing is around covert communication.
A compromised device can include hidden 3G or 4G that allows for sending and receiving data without ever touching your internal network in a visible way.
(call this out in blog format) From your perspective, everything looks normal, but behind the scenes, it’s not.
It Gets More Advanced Than That
Some threats are designed to stay completely quiet.
In our analysis, we are seeing compromised hardware that does nothing until it receives a specific signal. That signal could come from something as unexpected as a low Earth orbit satellite.
Once triggered, however, the device can open access or execute an action.
There is no obvious warning. No alert. Just impact.
Why This Is a Big Deal for Enterprise Organizations
If you rely on hardware, this matters more than you might think.
Large environments depend on thousands of devices across critical operations. You are not just protecting data. You are protecting safety, trust, and brand reputation.
One compromised component can create a much bigger problem than most teams are prepared for.
How We Approach Hardware Security Testing at OnDefend
This is exactly why our team has invested so heavily in building our advanced hardware security testing program.
At OnDefend, we do not stop at what the device does inside your network. Through capabilities like hardware breakdown, unauthorized chip transmission detection, and firmware testing, we look at how devices behave in the real world to uncover risks that may have been introduced at any point in the supply chain.
The goal is simple. Find what others miss.
We Look for Signals That Should Not Exist
If a device is communicating in ways it shouldn’t, we catch it. That includes hidden cellular activity and other unexpected transmissions that bypass standard monitoring.
We Hunt for Dormant Threats
We also look for components that are waiting to be activated. These are the hardest threats to find because they are designed to stay quiet until the right moment. That is exactly why we focus on them.
We Think Beyond the Device
Hardware security testing should not start at deployment. We help organizations understand risk across the entire supply chain, from manufacturing to firmware to delivery. That is how you get ahead of the problem instead of reacting to it.
And Then We Keep Hunting
Once your hardware device is tested and any remediations confirmed, we stay with your team every step of the way as firmware updates are issued. It’s our end-to-end way to make sure every device is covered from point of origin to a device potentially ending up in your OT environment or someone’s home.
Work With OnDefend
If you are relying on hardware, you need to know what it is actually inside and how it behaves.
OnDefend helps organizations uncover hidden risks and strengthen their hardware security testing approach from end to end.
Protect Your Hardware with OnDefend
