The Hidden Risks of Incomplete Security Scanning Across the IoT Product Lifecycle

As connected devices grow in complexity and regulatory scrutiny intensifies, product security teams face mounting pressure to ensure that no vulnerability slips through the cracks. Yet, incomplete scan coverage remains a silent risk in many organizations, exposing critical blind spots that can lead to breaches, fines, or worse.

A recent SC Media article highlights how gaps in visibility across the DevSecOps lifecycle jeopardize security and compliance with frameworks like the EU Cyber Resilience Act (CRA). Let’s explore where traditional scanning falls short and how to close those gaps effectively.

Where Traditional Scanning Falls Short

Many organizations still rely on source-code-only scanning solutions or basic vulnerability scans, which leave major risks unaddressed:

• Source code-only limitations: Not all components are developed in-house. Third-party libraries, vendor-supplied binaries, and legacy firmware often come without source code, leaving critical areas unscanned.
  
  
• Binary-only tradeoffs: Binary SCA is powerful, but when used alone, it lacks the context needed to fully assess custom code quality or identify architectural flaws.
  
  
• Legacy and third-party blind spots: These often contain outdated, unpatched software and are notorious for hardcoded credentials, insecure services, or expired certificates—none of which are visible with limited scanning tools.
  
  

As SC Media notes, organizations often don't realize they’ve left major vulnerabilities unscanned until it's too late.

The Real-World Consequences of Incomplete Visibility

Incomplete scanning isn’t just a technical oversight—it’s a business risk.

• Supply chain attacks like SolarWinds and Log4Shell have shown how unmonitored third-party components can become entry points for attackers.
  
  
• Regulatory exposure is intensifying. The EU’s CRA and CE RED Article 3.3 mandate proactive vulnerability management, transparency, and secure-by-design practices. Products with security blind spots risk being barred from major markets.
  
  
• Financial and operational fallout includes compliance fines, product recalls, reputational damage, and delayed time-to-market, all eroding competitive advantage.

Best Practices for Full-Coverage Security Scanning

To effectively secure IoT products, organizations must integrate security into every phase of the development lifecycle and ensure no component goes unchecked.

Here’s how:

• Combine binary and source code SCA: Tools like Finite State’s platform uniquely correlate vulnerabilities across binaries, source code, and SBOMs—giving teams complete visibility regardless of access to source code.
  
  
• Leverage SBOMs as a foundation: Automatically generate, manage, and enrich SBOMs to detect vulnerabilities, license issues, and component drift—then continuously monitor for new threats.
  
  
• Integrate into CI/CD workflows: Security scans must integrate seamlessly with CI/CD workflows for maximum coverage. Finite State supports 150+ integrations for fast remediation, auto-generated policy tickets, and enforcement of build-breaking thresholds.
  
  
• Contextual vulnerability prioritization: Not all CVEs are equal. Finite State’s platform factors in severity, prevalence, and real-world exploitability to help prioritize what matters most.
  
  

Conclusion: Visibility Gaps Aren’t Just Technical Debt—They’re Regulatory Liabilities

With global regulations tightening and threat actors increasingly targeting supply chains, traditional scanning tools aren’t enough. Organizations must proactively approach vulnerability detection and remediation, starting with full-spectrum scan coverage across the entire IoT product lifecycle.

Don’t let unseen risks derail your compliance or compromise your security. Contact us today to discover how Finite State uncovers vulnerabilities that traditional tools miss.