Larry Pesce is a lifelong hacker, educator, and leader in embedded and connected device security. A software bill of materials built from the firmware itself, not from a spec or a partial source scan, turns an unknown mix of third-party and open-source code into an inventory you can act on. Connected https://e-beginner.net/category/cybersecurity-fundamentals/ devices are hard to secure because they have limited resources, long lifespans, physical exposure, and supply chains full of third-party code makers rarely see.
Join thousands of security professionals learning from the best in the industry As the Vice President of Services, Larry drives strategic security initiatives across the software supply chain, helping product teams build resilient devices from the ground up. Whether you are preparing for the EU Cyber Resilience Act, strengthening your secure development lifecycle, or getting ready for penetration testing, our platform and advisory services are built for the realities of embedded and IoT https://startentrepreneureonline.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-blockchain-marketing systems. At Finite State, we help manufacturers secure complex connected ecosystems by working from the shipped reality of the device. That approach is what a ground-truth software inventory is built to deliver, and it is the foundation for patching, monitoring, and CRA-style evidence alike.
- For connected products, that surface is large, because the device talks to networks, cloud services, mobile apps, and other devices.
- Connected device security is the practice of protecting network-connected devices, their communications, and their data from unauthorized access, compromise, and disruption.
- Facilities teams install smart building systems.
- Nation-state targeting of utility networks through edge devices and remote access infrastructure.
- Nearly 70% of organizations surveyed by the Linux Foundation report being very or extremely concerned about the security of the software they use.
Consumer devices most often fail on default passwords, exposed app interfaces, and unpatched firmware, which is how cameras, routers, and smart bulbs get hijacked. A connected device security flaw is any weakness in a device’s software, firmware, or settings that an attacker can exploit, such as a default password. Some recent law enforcement actions have cited companies’ failure to follow up when credible sources warned them about security vulnerabilities in their products. Our solutions identify, segment and protect IoT devices and the data they produce. On-Demand SMEs Rely on expert consultants to review architectures and discuss best practices, including patching, SOAR, risk, gaps and more.
Enforcement
- Forescout’s 2026 data shows that financial services have\ the highest average device risk of any industry.
- Vendors deploy monitoring equipment during service visits.
- It requires manufacturers to handle vulnerabilities across the support period and to report actively exploited ones to ENISA.
- Supply chain attacks at this scale make post-deployment connected device security controls essential.
- Ransomware operators increasingly target connected devices for initial access, then pivot to higher-value IT or OT systems.
- Absolute Security’s research found that 83% of organizations experienced operational disruption following cyber incidents in 2025, with average annual downtime costs reaching $49 million.
This is why firmware-level analysis matters so much, and why a surface-level scan of the app or network is not enough. An attacker with physical access can pull the firmware from a chip or a debug port. Firmware is where the device’s real behavior lives, and it is often the least scrutinized part of the product. For connected products, that surface is large, because the device talks to networks, cloud services, mobile apps, and other devices.
CDX Product Security Services Service Brief
Limited processing power and memory make strong encryption and monitoring difficult. And going back further, the 2016 Mirai botnet enslaved hundreds of thousands of cameras and routers using nothing more than default passwords, then knocked large parts of the internet https://lifestyll.net/what-are-exciting-hobbies-for-tech-enthusiasts/ offline. The cause was a third-party caching library Wyze had recently added; during a service outage it misbehaved and let roughly 13,000 users see thumbnails from other people’s cameras, with about 1,500 tapping through to a stranger’s image. Recent smart home breaches include the 2024 Wyze incident, where about 13,000 users briefly saw strangers’ camera feeds, plus repeated Ring doorbell hijackings. The vulnerabilities that cause the worst incidents are usually buried in binaries nobody inventoried.