We attack the silicon, not just the software above it.
Below the software layer
Side-channel analysis, fault injection, JTAG/SWD exploitation, firmware extraction, and PCB reverse engineering — the physical-attack surface that a software-only test never touches.
For the devices where it matters
IoT products, automotive ECUs, and embedded systems, assessed against an attacker who has the hardware in hand and the patience to open it — the threat model most consultancies aren't equipped to test.
Depth most firms don't have
Hands-on hardware depth is scarce. Our team does the work that decides whether a physical product survives a determined attacker, and reports it in terms your hardware and firmware engineers can act on.
The problem: your device is in the attacker’s hands
Ship a physical product and you hand an attacker something a web app never gives them: the device itself, on their bench, for as long as they want. They can measure its power draw while it computes a key, glitch its clock to skip a security check, wire into a debug port the factory left live, and pull the firmware straight off the flash. None of that shows up in a software penetration test — it lives below the layer that testing reaches.
This is the hardware-security practice at the offensive-security side of KnytX. It is the silicon-deep counterpart to our application penetration testing, and for connected vehicles it feeds directly into ISO 21434 consulting. Browse the services hub for how the engagements fit together, or approach it from the problem side at find and fix vulnerabilities.
Engagement scope
A hardware assessment is scoped to the device and its threat model. A typical engagement covers one or more of:
- Side-channel analysis — power and electromagnetic analysis to recover keys and secrets that the device leaks while it computes.
- Fault injection — voltage, clock, and electromagnetic glitching to skip security checks, bypass secure boot, or corrupt a decision the device depends on.
- JTAG/SWD exploitation — finding and using debug interfaces to read memory, halt the processor, and take control.
- Firmware extraction and analysis — pulling firmware from flash, then reverse-engineering it for hardcoded secrets, weak crypto, and update-mechanism flaws.
- PCB reverse engineering — mapping the board to understand the chips, buses, and interfaces an attacker would target.
Methodology
We start from the device’s threat model — who attacks it, with what access, to what end — then work the physical surface systematically: identify the interfaces and chips, extract and analyze the firmware, and mount the side-channel and fault-injection attacks the threat model justifies. The goal is not a checklist; it is an honest answer to “can a skilled attacker with this device in hand break its security,” backed by what we actually achieved.
Deliverables
You receive a report with an executive summary, a prioritized findings list ordered by exploitability and impact, and for each finding the technical detail your hardware and firmware engineers need to reproduce and fix it — including the attack setup, the result, and concrete countermeasures at the silicon, firmware, and design level.
Timeline
Hardware assessments typically run four to eight weeks at a fixed price, set during scoping and driven by the device and the depth of attack in scope. Because this is consulting, the path to start is a scoping conversation, not a checkout — request a quote and we’ll propose a scope and fixed price within one week.