Industrial Control & Hardware Security Validation
Testing control systems, connected devices and their firmware
We test control systems and connected devices from settings and configuration down to vulnerabilities in the equipment and firmware themselves.
Two specialist areas: industrial control security, and hardware and firmware security. Each has its own structure, ways of communicating and expertise, so we test them separately and also look at where they connect to business networks, apps and the cloud. To avoid affecting equipment in operation, we agree the test environment and methods first, and our experts confirm every finding by hand.
Do our control systems and connected devices hold up against attack, down to the equipment and firmware?
We check from the network boundary and access routes down to the equipment and firmware, and set out the real impact, the evidence and how to improve.
Reviewed
When it fits
- Your control network is being connected to other networks
Remote maintenance, cloud integration or a move to a smart factory is connecting your control network to business networks or the outside, and you want to check that the boundary and access routes are closed as intended.
- You make or launch connected devices
Before or after launching a device for shops, homes or industrial sites, you want its firmware, hardware interfaces and the communication between device, app and cloud checked.
- You are bringing in equipment or devices from outside
You want to know whether control equipment or connected devices you are buying carry unknown vulnerabilities, default accounts or management functions nobody needs.
- Someone has asked for an independent test
A customer or partner's security requirements, or a tender, calls for an independent, third-party technical test. The results do not replace a certification audit or legal advice.
What we examine
Two specialist areas: industrial control security, and hardware and firmware security. We cover everything from settings and configuration to vulnerabilities in the equipment and firmware themselves.
Industrial control security
- The target
- The control networks of plants, factories and buildings, control equipment such as PLCs, HMIs and SCADA, and where they connect to business networks.
- What we can test
- The boundary and separation between control and business networks
- Remote access routes
- HMI, SCADA and engineering workstations
- Industrial communication protocols
- Vulnerabilities in PLCs and other control equipment and their firmware, including previously unknown (zero-day) ones
- Equipment management accounts and settings
- Where it applies
- Factory production lines, plant process control, building automation and facility management
To avoid affecting equipment in operation, we agree the test environment and methods first.
Hardware and firmware security
- The target
- Connected devices in shops, homes and industrial sites, their firmware, and the apps and cloud that manage them.
- What we can test
- Firmware analysis
- Hardware interfaces
- Communication between device, app and cloud
- Management screens and default accounts
- Integrity of the update process
- Vulnerabilities in the device itself, including previously unknown ones
- The mobile app that manages the device
- Where it applies
- Shop terminals, smart home devices, and sensors and gateways on industrial sites
The areas are examples. Targets, scope, deliverables, timelines and operational responsibilities are agreed for each engagement.
How it runs
Agree targets and environment
We agree in writing the equipment and devices to test, where testing runs (live equipment, spare units or test devices), what is allowed and what is not, and when to stop.
Map the setup
We go through the network layout and access routes, the equipment list and firmware versions, and the operations contact and the hours when testing can run.
Test and validate
Settings and configuration are checked by the methods agreed for live equipment; the equipment and firmware themselves are analysed by our experts in the test environment.
Explain and re-check
We explain the findings, real impact, evidence and fixes to the people who run the equipment, look after security or build the product and, if agreed, check the fixes again.
Keeping it safeTests that could affect equipment run only if agreed beforehand, and if anything looks wrong we stop by the agreed rule and tell the operations contact. How data and evidence are kept and destroyed is settled before we start.
What you receive
What was checked, and where
The equipment, devices and firmware versions tested, the environment and conditions, and what this round did not cover, stated plainly.
Findings and real impact
Whether each finding can really be exploited and what it would mean for operations, safety or the product, with confirmed facts kept apart from signs that need a closer look.
Reproducible evidence
The conditions and evidence needed to confirm each result again.
What to fix first
What to fix first across network separation and access routes, accounts and settings, and firmware and updates, including what can be done where equipment cannot be replaced or patched straight away.
Results do not replace a certification audit, legal advice or a functional safety assessment of the equipment.