Building a Modern IoT Security Stack: From Source to Firmware
Don’t just scan your source—secure your full IoT stack. Learn how to build a modern, layered security strategy from code to firmware and beyond.
Larry Pesce
VP of Services
The TL;DR of the First Three Posts
We’ve talked about a lot:
- Why traditional scanners fall short for IoT
- How compiled binaries tell the real story
- Why open source components create blind spots
Now let’s turn all that into action—a roadmap for doing IoT security the right way.
What Modern IoT Security Actually Looks Like
Security for embedded and IoT devices isn’t about slapping a scanner onto your codebase and calling it a day. It’s about building visibility and validation into every layer of the development lifecycle.
Here’s what that stack should include:
1. Source Code Analysis (SAST)
- Catch issues early
- Annotate libraries and internal components
- Flag unsafe logic before it compiles
2. Binary + Firmware Analysis
- Inspect the actual output, not just the intention
- Discover hidden third-party code, static libs, and hardcoded secrets
- Analyze stripped binaries, even without debug symbols
3. SBOM Generation + Validation
- Automatically generate SBOMs from builds
- Validate SBOMs with binary analysis (trust but verify)
- Include versioning, license, and reachability info (as a bonus)
4. Threat Intelligence + CVE Mapping
- Constantly refresh vulnerability intelligence
- Correlate it with real firmware content
- Focus on exploitable paths, not just known flaws
5. Continuous Integration
- Make all of this part of CI/CD
- Scan everything at every build
- Don’t wait for pen tests or compliance audits to find issues
Shift Left. Shift Right. See Everything.
"Shifting left" means catching issues earlier in the dev cycle, which is great, but in IoT, you also need to shift right, to the final compiled artifacts.
That means scanning:
- Source code (left)
- Compiled binaries (right)
- Everything in between
What You’ll Get from Doing This Right
- Real Risk Visibility: Know what’s exploitable, not just what exists
- Faster Remediation: Fix vulnerabilities where they happen—in source, configs, or binaries
- Better Compliance Posture: CRA, FCC, FDA, NIST—pick your acronym. They all want proof.
- More Secure Products: Ship firmware that you can stand behind
Final Word
This isn’t just about checking a box. It’s about building trust. In your code. In your supply chain. In your ability to respond fast when threats emerge.
Modern IoT security isn’t one tool. It’s a layered strategy. Start where you are. Expand your visibility. And never, ever settle for scanning the surface.
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Larry Pesce
VP of Services
Larry Pesce is VP of Services at Finite State, where he leads product security research and vulnerability assessments across IoT, OT, and healthcare devices. With over 20 years of experience, he’s also a longtime SANS instructor and co-host of Paul’s Security Weekly, known for advancing vulnerability management practices industry-wide.