Rootworks Cyber Security

Automotive and embedded systems security

Continuous firmware vulnerability monitoring and specialist assessment for IoT, industrial control systems, connected vehicles and embedded platforms. Understand your product’s resilience and keep track of new risks throughout its supported life.

North West based, near Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds Nationwide coverage

20+ years in offensive and defensive security
Lifecycle assurance at launch and vulnerability monitoring throughout support
Specialist automotive, IoT and embedded platform knowledge

Security without guesswork

Find the risk that matters.
Fix it before it becomes expensive.

Connected products bring together applications, operating systems, cloud services and specialist hardware. Rootworks examines the whole system, turning technical findings into practical decisions for engineering and security teams. Ongoing firmware vulnerability monitoring keeps those decisions informed as new issues emerge after deployment.

How we work

Services

Security work built around your product

Focused assessment and ongoing security support that give technical teams a clear view of exposure, priority and next action.

1

Device hardware security testing

Hands-on assessment including chip-off and in-circuit firmware extraction, secure boot and debug access verification, controlled device modification and custom test harness development.

Turn restricted hardware into an observable, repeatable test environment
2

Embedded & connected systems assessment

Security assessment for IoT devices, industrial control systems and embedded platforms, covering firmware, operating systems, connected interfaces and the services they depend on.

Expose attack paths across the complete system
3

Continuous firmware vulnerability monitoring

Monitor known software components across device firmware versions for newly disclosed vulnerabilities. Review relevance to your products, prioritise action and keep track of remediation throughout the agreed support period.

Know when new vulnerabilities could affect the devices you support
4

Security architecture & consulting

Engage specialist security knowledge early in design and development, before weaknesses become costly production problems.

Build defensible products from the outset
5

Connected-product cyber resilience

Turn product security requirements into practical assessment of hardware, firmware, applications and update mechanisms, with evidence to support CRA, PSTI and customer assurance work.

Connect security requirements to testable engineering decisions
6

Mobile application security

Assessment and reverse engineering for mobile applications that control, configure or communicate with connected products.

Understand application and API exposure
7

Onsite GSM & Osmocom training

A two-day practical course where engineering teams build, connect and troubleshoot a private GSM lab using the Osmocom stack and an ip.access nanoBTS.

Turn GSM architecture into hands-on engineering knowledge

Continuous firmware vulnerability monitoring

Security that continues after deployment.

New vulnerabilities can affect firmware already in the field. Rootworks provides ongoing monitoring of known firmware components, helping you understand which products need attention and what to do next.

  1. Establish the baseline

    Identify the devices, firmware versions and known software components to monitor, using available firmware, component records or a software bill of materials (SBOM).

  2. Watch for new vulnerabilities

    Track newly disclosed CVEs against the agreed component inventory, keeping visibility of potential exposure across supported releases.

  3. Review product relevance

    Assess matches against component versions, configuration and device context so engineering teams can prioritise the issues that matter.

  4. Support the response

    Provide actionable findings, remediation priorities and a record of decisions. Track fixes and agree focused verification where needed.

Agree the monitored products, firmware versions, component coverage, review cadence and reporting arrangements at the start. Keep the inventory current as firmware releases change.

Discuss ongoing firmware security

Cyber resilience & product requirements

Know what your connected product needs to demonstrate

Practical guidance for manufacturers and engineering teams supplying the UK and EU markets.

Start here

Cyber resilience for connected products

Understand how secure design, testing, maintenance and recovery fit together, and which legal requirements to check.

Explore product cyber resilience

EU market

Cyber Resilience Act: a manufacturer’s guide

Check CRA scope, reporting duties and the 2027 product requirements before setting your engineering priorities.

Read the EU CRA guide

UK consumer IoT

PSTI compliance and device security

Review passwords, vulnerability reporting, support information and the evidence behind your connected device.

Read the UK PSTI guide

Engagement approach

From system context to engineering action

Every engagement is scoped around the product, its environment and the decisions your team needs to make.

  1. 1

    Define

    Map the product, interfaces, threat model and assurance goals.

  2. 2

    Examine

    Assess the implementation using targeted offensive and analytical techniques.

  3. 3

    Prioritise

    Separate credible product risk from noise and theoretical exposure.

  4. 4

    Improve

    Give engineering teams clear evidence and practical remediation direction.

Technical expertise

Comfortable below the application layer

Rootworks works across the boundaries between hardware, operating systems, applications and connected services, where product security issues are often hardest to see.

Explore hardware testing

Platforms

  • Embedded Linux
  • QNX
  • Android & mobile
  • IoT devices

Product areas

  • Infotainment
  • Telematics
  • Connected products
  • Supporting software

Techniques

  • Chip-off & in-circuit access
  • Secure boot & firmware analysis
  • JTAG, eMMC & UFS
  • Test harness engineering

Outcomes

  • Evidence-led findings
  • Risk prioritisation
  • Remediation advice
  • Lifecycle monitoring

Start a conversation

Bring us the product.
We’ll help clarify the risk.

Tell us what you build or operate, which firmware versions you support and whether you need an assessment or ongoing vulnerability monitoring. We will respond with a practical next step.