08/06/2026
You can secure the software.
But what if you can’t trust the hardware it’s running on?
Field devices used to sit outside most security conversations.
A laptop in a patrol vehicle, an ambulance, or a substation was treated as a logistics decision.
Specs. Cost. Durability.
Security teams were rarely involved.
That has changed.
Devices are no longer just tools.
They are part of the attack surface.
And in many environments, they operate far beyond the reach of traditional controls.
Most conversations with rugged vendors still don’t fully reflect that shift.
Before your next fleet refresh, there are a few questions worth asking:
→ Where is the device manufactured - and who has access to it before it ships?
→ Can the platform verify its own integrity at boot?
→ What mechanisms are in place to detect tampering between factory and field?
→ How long is firmware supported - and is that commitment defined?
→ Can the device validate itself in a disconnected environment?
The answers reveal what the product brochure doesn’t.
They tell you whether a device can actually be trusted not just deployed.
We apply the same questions to ourselves.
They are worth applying to any vendor.
