When “Secure Hardware” Isn’t Secure:
- Srihari Maddula
- Nov 18
- 4 min read
How Open Hardware Security Labs Are Making Embedded Products Stronger
In 2025, even a ₹500 IoT gadget carries Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, OTA updates, and a microcontroller running “secure” firmware. But here’s the uncomfortable truth:
Most devices look secure on paper but collapse the moment someone attacks the hardware directly.
It doesn’t take a nation-state attacker — just a motivated engineer with curiosity and the right tools.
Examples?
A 200-nanosecond voltage glitch bypassing authentication.
A power trace exposing cryptographic keys.
A JTAG port left unlocked.
A cloned secure element bypassing encryption.
A tampered SPI flash rewriting firmware in the field.
The difference between a “secure” device and a compromised one can be a single missing line of defensive code or an unprotected test pad.
That’s why open-source hardware security frameworks have become game-changers democratizing silicon-level security and enabling startups, universities, and engineering teams to harden embedded products without million-dollar labs.
Why Hardware Security Matters in 2025
As cloud and mobile security mature, hardware has become the new attack surface.
Recent examples highlight the growing risk:
EV chargers and grid-connected stations being hacked
Smart locks bypassed through voltage glitching
Routers cloned using SPI flash dumps
POS terminals modified at the board level
Crypto wallets compromised through power analysis
Satellite and CubeSat radios needing tamper-proof hardware
When a product controls money, safety, identity, or critical infrastructure, trusting software alone isn’t enough. Security must begin at the silicon and PCB level.
For AI-powered embedded systems, EV infrastructure, or smart city solutions, this hardware-level defense is now essential.
The Open Security Revolution: Anyone Can Build a Hardware Security Lab
In the past, side-channel analysis, fault injection and chip-level debug required expensive labs.
Now? A laptop, Python scripts, and a few open tools are enough to test real-world attacks.
Open Hardware Roots of Trust & Secure Boot Frameworks
The foundation of modern embedded security is a trusted boot chain — from silicon to firmware.
Key open projects enabling this:
OpenTitan – the world’s first open Root-of-Trust silicon project (by Google & LowRISC).Features: secure boot, key management, hardware RNG, crypto accelerators.
LowRISC SoC – open RISC-V systems with secure debug locks.
ProjectVault – open-source hardware token with full security design transparency.
These frameworks define how embedded systems development teams can implement true hardware trust without proprietary IP — ensuring end-to-end embedded product design integrity.
Side-Channel Analysis (SCA): Power Leaks That Reveal Secrets
Every time a microcontroller runs AES, SHA, or RSA, it leaks data through power fluctuations — and attackers can read those leaks.
Open-source side-channel analysis tools make this threat visible:
SCALib – statistical leakage detection
DPA Contest datasets – real-world AES attack traces
Binsec/Rel – formal binary analysis for side-channel leaks
By testing with these, IoT product engineering teams can detect vulnerabilities before their devices reach customers — protecting AI-enabled infrastructure from hardware-level espionage.
Glitching & Fault Injection: Attacking the Firmware Physically
A single voltage or EM glitch can skip an instruction, bypass authentication, or break secure boot.
Accessible open-source tools include:
These make industrial IoT and automation systems testable against physical faults — a critical part of AI for smart infrastructure safety design
4. Reverse Engineering & Firmware Extraction
Attackers don’t need source code. They dump it from SPI flash or JTAG.
To defend against it, engineers must understand how attackers work:
When designers see how easy it is to bypass protections, they start locking things properly.
Secure Elements & Hardware Crypto Testing
Even secure chips can fail if not provisioned correctly. That’s where open frameworks for secure element validation come in:
tpm2-tools – TPM 2.0 validation suite
Microchip CryptoAuthLib – ATECC series API stack
SEcube – open hardware secure element
OpenSCA – side-channel crypto analysis platform
Using these, AI product engineering companies in India and beyond can validate provisioning, key attestation, and secure firmware lifecycle — ensuring product-level cryptographic integrity.
Hardware Forensics and PCB-Level Security Audits
Hardware security is as much physical as it is digital. Open hardware tools now help engineers perform PCB-level threat modeling:
KiCad – visualize test-point exposure
OpenBoardView – board inspection and mapping
Sigrok – capture power signatures
FreeCAD – model tamper-proof mechanical enclosures
This discipline is crucial for smart meters, EV chargers, industrial controllers, medical devices, and automotive ECUs that power smart infrastructure solutions globally.
The Real Lesson: Software Is Only as Secure as the Hardware Beneath It
A product may use AES-256 encryption, TLS communication, and secure boot, yet still fail if:
SPI flash isn’t encrypted
JTAG remains open
Power glitching bypasses security checks
Keys are visible in power traces
Firmware can be dumped from the board
Security starts at the circuit board, not in the cloud.For embedded AI systems, industrial IoT, and connected city devices, that’s the difference between resilience and compromise.
How EurthTech Builds Security from Silicon to Cloud
At EurthTech, we merge firmware engineering, hardware design, and low-level security research to make embedded devices tamper-resistant and globally certifiable.
Our capabilities include:
Secure boot architecture design
Secure element provisioning and key lifecycle management
JTAG/SWD lockdown and hardware debug restriction
Glitch and fault injection resistance
Side-channel leakage testing
SPI flash authentication and encryption
Tamper-proof PCB layout and enclosure design
OTA firmware security and rollback prevention
We specialize in securing:
Smart locks and POS terminals
EV chargers and automotive ECUs
Industrial IoT gateways
Medical and defense electronics
Crypto wallets and payment hardware
With IoT & embedded services in India and partnerships across smart city technology ecosystems, EurthTech helps enterprises bring security from datasheet → silicon → field deployment.
Because in connected infrastructure, hardware security isn’t optional — it’s the foundation of trust.
Need expert guidance for your next engineering challenge?
Connect with us today — we offer a complimentary first consultation to help you move forward with clarity.
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