baselineRFIWhat firmware analysis methods does the product use — static binary analysis, emulated execution, or both — and which architectures/RTOSes does it support (ARM, MIPS, RISC-V, VxWorks, FreeRTOS, embedded Linux)?weight 3
Answer key — what a strong answer shows
Look for named architecture/RTOS coverage and both static + emulated analysis — static-only tools miss runtime behavior, and narrow architecture support quietly excludes much of a real device fleet.
baselineRFPDescribe SBOM generation from binary firmware images (no source required) — component/version identification accuracy against a known-composition reference image, per a customer or published benchmark.weight 3
Answer key — what a strong answer shows
Binary-level SBOM accuracy varies wildly between tools; strong answers cite a measured identification accuracy on reference images, not just 'we generate SBOMs.'
baselineRFIHow are known-vulnerable components (CVEs in bundled libraries like OpenSSL, BusyBox) correlated to actual exploitability on the device — does the analysis account for whether the vulnerable code path is reachable in this firmware build?weight 3
Answer key — what a strong answer shows
CVE-in-component lists without reachability/configuration context produce overwhelming noise — look for exploitability triage specific to the firmware build.
baselineRFIWhat secrets and misconfiguration detection runs against firmware images — hardcoded credentials, private keys, debug interfaces left enabled, insecure boot configurations?weight 3
Answer key — what a strong answer shows
Hardcoded credentials and leftover debug access are the classic embedded findings — look for concrete detection classes, not generic 'vulnerability scanning.'
baselineRFPDetail secure-boot and firmware-integrity verification support — can the product validate signing chains and detect unsigned/tampered update mechanisms, and does it cover OTA update security assessment?weight 3
Answer key — what a strong answer shows
Update-mechanism weaknesses are how embedded fleets get compromised at scale; strong answers assess the whole update path (signing, transport, rollback protection), not just the image at rest.
baselineRFIHow does the product fit device-maker compliance workflows — EU CRA, IEC 62443, FDA premarket cybersecurity for medical devices — with report output an auditor/regulator can consume?weight 3
Answer key — what a strong answer shows
Regulatory drivers (CRA especially) are why many buyers are in this category now — look for named-framework report mapping, not generic PDF exports.
baselineRFPExplain monitoring for third-party/supplier firmware — can we assess vendor-supplied device firmware we can't rebuild, and track drift between firmware versions across a deployed fleet?weight 3
Answer key — what a strong answer shows
Most buyers run devices they didn't build; binary-only analysis of supplier firmware plus fleet version-drift tracking is the practically valuable capability.
baselineRFIWhat is the analysis turnaround time for a typical firmware image (100MB-1GB) and how does the product integrate into a device-maker's CI so every build is analyzed automatically?weight 3
Answer key — what a strong answer shows
Look for a stated turnaround figure and real CI integration — an analysis that takes days or requires manual upload won't be run on every build.
baselineRFIWhat is the pricing model — per firmware image analyzed, per device model, or a flat enterprise tier — and how does cost scale for a device maker with a large, growing product line and frequent firmware releases?weight 3
Answer key — what a strong answer shows
Look for transparent, predictable scaling economics tied to realistic release cadence and product-line growth, not just a per-image price that becomes unpredictable at scale.
baselineRFPDescribe incident-response/forensic capability for a confirmed compromised device found in the field — can the platform analyze the actual firmware pulled from a compromised unit to determine the compromise mechanism, and what is a customer-referenced turnaround time?weight 3
Answer key — what a strong answer shows
Strong answers describe a real forensic-analysis capability for an actual field incident, not just pre-release scanning — this is the highest-stakes use case for a device already suspected compromised.
baselineRFIDoes the platform correlate a known-vulnerable firmware finding against the customer's actual deployed fleet (which specific devices in the field are still running the vulnerable version), or does analysis stop at the firmware-image level with no fleet-deployment visibility?weight 3
Answer key — what a strong answer shows
Fleet-deployment correlation (knowing exactly which field devices need an update) is materially more actionable than firmware-image analysis alone with no connection to what's actually deployed where.
baselineRFIWhat is explicitly out of scope — does analysis cover only firmware/software, or does it extend to hardware-level security assessment (side-channel resistance, physical tampering, JTAG/debug-port exposure)? Clarify this scope boundary explicitly.weight 3
Answer key — what a strong answer shows
Firmware analysis and hardware-security assessment are genuinely different disciplines — a vendor should be explicit about which they provide rather than implying comprehensive device security coverage.
baselineRFPDetail historical trend reporting on fleet-wide firmware security posture (vulnerable-device count, patch-compliance rate) over time, suitable for demonstrating program maturity to leadership and regulators.weight 3
Answer key — what a strong answer shows
Trend-over-time reporting is a distinct capability from a per-image analysis report — confirm this exists as a maintained, exportable, fleet-wide report.
baselineRFIHow does the platform integrate with the customer's existing vulnerability management and asset-inventory tooling so firmware-level findings feed into the same unified risk view rather than a disconnected, embedded-specific dashboard?weight 3
Answer key — what a strong answer shows
Look for genuine integration into a unified risk view; a standalone firmware-security dashboard disconnected from the broader VM picture creates real reconciliation burden for the security team.
baselineRFPWhat is the measured false-positive rate on vulnerability findings specifically (flagging a component as vulnerable when the actual bundled version or build configuration isn't exploitable), and what mechanism exists for engineers to correct and suppress confirmed false positives?weight 3
Answer key — what a strong answer shows
A high false-positive rate creates real alert fatigue and erodes trust — ask for a real, customer-validated accuracy figure and a suppression/correction workflow.
baselineRFIHow well does the platform handle a heterogeneous, multi-vendor device fleet (different chip architectures, RTOSes, and firmware formats across acquired product lines or M&A-combined portfolios), versus being optimized for a single, homogeneous product line?weight 3
Answer key — what a strong answer shows
A device maker with an acquired or diverse product portfolio needs genuine multi-architecture/multi-RTOS depth, not a tool optimized narrowly for one homogeneous line — ask for a concrete example of heterogeneous-fleet coverage.
baselineRFPDemonstrate autonomous defense solutions deployed at remote endpoints to protect against in-band and out-of-band attacks, including hardware, firmware, or software that protects, defends, or hardens deployed OT.weight 3
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