SERVICES
Hardware & Integrated Systems Testing
Uncover hidden threats in IoT and OT hardware, firmware, embedded components, and device communications 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, unauthorized, or undocumented behavior that traditional testing often misses. This includes covert inbound and outbound communications capable of enabling backdoor manipulation, remote control, or data exfiltration. Our testing 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 validates device integrity without teardown by verifying components against trusted baselines and identifying common configuration weaknesses prior to deployment. This testing provides foundational assurance and supporting alignment with United States cybersecurity and compliance requirements.
Firmware Testing
Firmware testing validates the authenticity and security of device code by extracting and analyzing firmware against trusted sources to identify vulnerabilities, unauthorized modifications, and embedded backdoors, supporting secure deployment and regulatory compliance.
Hardware Breakdown & Analysis
Hardware breakdown and analysis validates device integrity through full disassembly and chip-level inspection to identify hidden components, undocumented circuitry, unauthorized modifications, and supply chain risks that traditional testing cannot detect, delivering deeper assurance of hardware trustworthiness.
Hardware Transmission Detection
Hardware transmission detection validates hardware communication behavior through full spectrum RF scanning to identify concealed RF channels and covert data exfiltration paths undetectable through software analysis. This testing exposes the ability for hardware to send or receive unauthorized communications or malicious commands.
HBOM and Component Level Frequency Analysis
Hardware Bill of Materials (HBOM) and component level frequency analysis validates hardware communication activity by mapping HBOM data against component level transmission behavior to identify which chips or components are generating undocumented or unauthorized communications. This testing provides chip-to-signal visibility into anomalous RF activity and suspicious hardware behavior.
Through Silicon Chip Level Analysis
Through silicon chip level analysis validates hardware integrity using nondestructive infrared imaging and chip-level inspection to identify embedded antennas, covert circuitry, undocumented transmission pathways, and hidden communication capabilities operating inside hardware components.
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.
AI-powered adversaries don’t exploit vulnerabilities.
They exploit attack paths.
AI-powered adversaries exploit more than vulnerabilities and misconfigurations. They chain together hidden risks like exploitable designs, security control failures, and novel attack techniques to reach critical assets. The goal is no longer finding every weakness, but breaking attack paths with the fewest high-impact fixes.
Reconnaissance
Attack Surface Mapped
Exploit
Initial Access
Misconfiguration Exploited
PIVOT
Privilege Escalation
Exploitable Design Abused
Chain
Exploitation
Low-Severity Finding Chained
exploit
Lateral Movement
Novel Technique Executed
bypass
Defense Evasion
Security Controls Defeated
Lateral
Impact
Critical Asset Compromised
Traditional pen tests and vulnerability scanners find these
What AI-powered adversaries find and chain into attack paths
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.
Elite Hardware Security Operators
Testing is performed by experienced hardware and embedded security engineers with deep expertise in firmware analysis, silicon-level attacks, and device exploitation, validating risk through the same techniques real attackers use against physical systems.
Intelligence-Driven Hardware Testing
Testing is guided by commercial and proprietary intelligence, prioritizing active hardware attack techniques, emerging device threats, and realistic paths to compromise, directing effort toward hardware risks that lead to real-world exploitation.
AI- and Automation-Enhanced Coverage
AI-assisted analysis and automation expand coverage across firmware variants, device fleets, and component ecosystems, revealing hidden weaknesses and systemic exposure that manual testing often misses.
Continuous Testing Capabilities
Automation enables ongoing validation of device security posture throughout the hardware lifecycle, maintaining visibility into risk introduced by firmware updates, component changes, and configuration drift.
Executive and Technical Reporting
Clear reporting delivers prioritized, actionable findings for engineering and security teams while translating technical hardware risk into business-level insight, aligning remediation decisions to both operational impact and enterprise risk.
Beyond Compliance Validation
Testing aligns with recognized standards while validating real-world exploitability, demonstrating whether devices can withstand motivated adversaries rather than merely satisfying checklist requirements.
Our Team
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.
Resources
Explore our comprehensive resource collection to enhance your organization’s security posture and stay ahead of potential threats.
TikTok Partnership
HaystackID and OnDefend are furthering security of the TikTok U.S. platform & app.
Read ArticleHardware 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.
