IoT Penetration Testing Guide
IoT and medical device penetration testing — firmware analysis, embedded protocol testing, physical attack vectors, and regulatory compliance.
2026-09-01
Connected devices — IoT sensors, medical devices, industrial controllers — create unique pentesting challenges. Unlike web applications, IoT testing requires firmware analysis, hardware interaction, and proprietary protocol assessment.
How IoT pentesting is different
Traditional pentesting focuses on software running on standard operating systems. IoT pentesting involves:
- Firmware analysis. Extracting and analyzing device firmware for hardcoded credentials, backdoors, and vulnerable libraries.
- Hardware interfaces. Testing physical ports (JTAG, UART, SPI) for debug access, firmware dumping, and privilege escalation.
- Proprietary protocols. Reverse engineering custom communication protocols instead of testing standard HTTP/HTTPS.
- Resource-constrained devices. Limited CPU, memory, and battery mean traditional security controls may not apply.
What an IoT pentest covers
| Layer | What to test |
|---|---|
| Firmware | Hardcoded secrets, outdated components, encryption flaws |
| Hardware | Debug port access, tamper resistance, side-channel leakage |
| Network | Custom protocols, traffic encryption, command injection |
| Cloud backend | Device APIs, authentication, firmware update mechanisms |
| Mobile companion app | Local storage, device pairing, data transmission |
Regulatory considerations
Medical device manufacturers must comply with FDA premarket cybersecurity guidance, which requires:
- Threat modeling for connected devices
- Security testing including penetration testing
- Software bill of materials (SBOM) documentation
- Coordinated disclosure processes
Affordable Pentesting for IoT
Whether you are testing a medical device, industrial sensor, or consumer IoT product, our manual and AI-driven testing can help validate your device security. Start a pentest or contact our team to discuss your IoT testing needs.
Related reading: Cloud Penetration Testing Guide