Finite State Blog

How To Make IoT Pen Testing Easier

Written by Finite State Team | Oct 5, 2022 5:47:36 PM

Picture this: You've been given a device to pen test. You know right away it's basically a black box. 

But that doesn't change the fact that you've got 30 days to hack into it. You know you need to get up to speed quickly on what's in the device and where its vulnerabilities lie. 

How do you proceed? 

How Does Finite State Help Pen Testers with IoT? 

When you're pen testing IoT, you need a solution that's built for the embedded ecosystem and one that automates the firmware stages of pen testing. When looking for an IoT pen testing solution, look for one that provides a single platform that analyzes:

  • firmware
  • device drivers
  • operating systems
  • components
  • libraries
  • open source licensing
  • custom-built software
  • configuration risks, and more

What Do You Need for Effective IoT Pen Testing?

Comprehensive Vulnerability Intelligence

The best IoT pen testing solutions enable pen testers with a risk-prioritized view of their firmware analysis. That includes categorization of risks across CVEs, CWEs, and active exploits. Armed with comprehensive vulnerability intelligence, pen testers can pinpoint the components that have the most serious vulnerabilities and determine where hard-coded credentials lie. 

Actionable Guidance

Where should pen testers focus their attention? What's next after you have your findings in hand? Pen testing is made easier by solutions that prioritize actionability by allowing pen testers to focus on the vulnerabilities that can be reached within a network or that have been linked to exploits. This saves time in identifying areas of concern, and helps later on when executing risk mitigation strategies.

Software Bill of Materials

When evaluating IoT pen testing solutions, look for one that stands behind the accuracy of its Software Bill of Materials (SBOM). With that, pen testers can save both time and resources when they set out to identify flaws. 

Integration 

Does the IoT pen testing solution export observations data via reports or by API? Can the data be integrated into tools like Nessus, or downloaded to be analyzed manually to determine potential vulnerabilities?

File Tree View

Look for a solution that lets pen testers drill down into the data and perform deep analysis on firmware to find even more potential vulnerabilities.

Pen Testing Made Simple

When you need less time to pen test, that frees up time, cost, and resources for other priorities--even if it's more pen testing. When you're pen testing devices, consider bringing Finite State's security analysis platform into your pen testing function. 

The Finite State solution can help pen testers save time by helping them:

  • Identify the OS version
  • See into the device with an SBOM
  • Understand associated critical CVEs and exploit payloads
  • Identify disabled protection mechanisms
  • Identify user IDs and potentially crackable password hashes
  • Identify private keys and expired or expiring certificates
  • Export security findings

Finite State can help you expand the scope of your IoT pen testing function and the number of products you can pen test. Also, automating your pen testing function can bring consistency and repeatability to a sometimes inconsistent process.

Get in touch today and we'll show you how Finite State can save your company time, cost, and effort when compared to your current pen testing approach.