Hardware / IoT Pentesting

Hardware / IoT Pentesting

IoT devices are a growing target of our test and assessment services. Hardware, firmware and (cloud dwelling) backends are all targets for attackers and often not very well understood.

Secura can test all these aspects, and also apply reverse engineering and firmware hacking techniques to find out which weaknesses exist. Interesting to note in this context is that Secura is also active partner in the INTERSECT research consortium that includes all Dutch Technical Universities and many multinationals, and is focused on developing new technologies for testing and securing (Industrial) IoT devices.

In general it depends largely on the device what exact steps are taken in an IoT assessment. However if hardware is in scope we will identify interfaces such as serial, SPI, I2C, JTAG and others. We will attempt to identify all components and their weaknesses. For certain components Secura can perform ‘chip-off’ techniques by removing the component from the PCB and placing it in a specific test bed. This is usually done to extract memory contents from the component for later analysis.

If an IoT device has a companion app, we can perform a Mobile app assessment on that part, and if the IoT device has a web interface, we can perform a web application assessment on that. Normally, we require several hardware samples to be delivered, that can be destructively tested (i.e.: do not count on getting them back in 1 piece).

Also read: From mattresses to artificial hearts: why IoT security is crucial