Conventional security solutions for resource-constrained RTOS devices are limiting, passive, rely on static analysis, and consistently prove ineffective. Sternum leverages patented technology to offer a purpose-built solution for RTOS, operating in runtime with minimal overhead. This guarantees robust security without compromising device performance.
RTOS Security Takes A Back Seat
Performance vs Security Tradeoffs
Embedded RTOS devices, such as sensors or special-purpose controllers, lack the resources (CPU, memory, storage, etc.) to adequately incorporate on-device security solutions without performance degradation.
Legacy Controls Are Inadequate
Static analysis tools find only 50% of vulnerabilities. Perimeter defenses and segmentation techniques are also constrained in their ability to detect and prevent attacks, particularly for RTOS devices that sporadically establish network connections.
Poor Visibility Leaves Operators Blind
Manufacturers have little visibility into the post-shipment behavior of their RTOS devices due to performance and resource constraints. This lack of visibility exposes devices to security risks, hinders the detection and investigation of security events, and consequently impedes effective mitigation efforts.
Platform Proliferation Adds Complexity
Managing diverse RTOS environments and a multitude of IoT device types presents a significant security challenge. The complexity is further intensified by the wide range of hardware and software combinations, with the added complication of lacking universal security solutions.
Built-in Security That Works
Low Overhead On-device Protection
By utilizing patented EIV™ technology that leverages binary instrumentation, Sternum can be deployed with a mere 1-3% overhead, accommodating resource-restricted RTOS devices such as embedded controllers, sensors, and legacy products. This ensures optimal performance while delivering robust security capabilities.
Autonomous Runtime Protection
Sternum's runtime protection automatically profiles your firmware, including third-party components, and implements verification checks on all potential exploitation paths. By deterministically preventing code and memory manipulation attempts, it provides robust for RTOS devices, making them unexploitable.
Continuous Real-time Monitoring
With Sternum's real-time investigation views, you gain access to comprehensive context for conducting in-depth root-cause analysis and addressing security issues at their source. This accelerates the process of attack mitigation, resulting in reduced issue resolution time, minimized risk, and minimal impact on device performance.
End-to-end Universal Solution
Our platform streamlines device security and observability across a wide range of device/OS combinations, spanning from the latest systems to legacy setups. It provides comprehensive support for popular RTOS environments like FreeRTOS, Zephyr, QNX, Micrium, Mbed OS, Azure ThreadX, and many others, ensuring seamless integration and efficient management.
“Sternum’s solution saves us time, manpower, and money. Being able to lean on Sternum as an active mitigation is a game changer and the data insights help us build better products and make better decisions.”
Kyle Erickson
Product Security Director at Medtronic
“Sternum enhances Zephyr’s built-in security features by providing embedded developers and device manufacturers with additional runtime protection and monitoring capabilities, which they can implement with minimal complexity and zero performance compromises.”
Kate Stewart
VP, Dependable Embedded Systems at the Linux Foundation
“All attacks NXP crafted were blocked by Sternum with CPU overhead of less than 3%. Sternum’s ability to successfully addresses runtime attacks is a valuable addition to many of NXP products.”
Marc Vauclair
Senior Security System Architect and Fellow at NXP Semiconductors
“We were searching for a solution that delivered advanced security and monitoring capabilities. Sternum provided us exactly with what we needed, all with an effortless integration and without any negative impact on performance.”
Uri Neria
Head of Product at Vibrant
“We have long admired Sternum, for its unique ability to provide remote analysis of firmware runtime. Access to this technology improves our IoT offering and helps our partners deliver more reliable and competitive IoT products and services.”
Pavel Hübner
CEO and co-founder at HARDWARIO
“Seamless baked-in security with none of the added investment or complexity. Sternum alerts users to any attempt to compromise one of their deployed devices, providing early security intelligence.”
Dr. Mihai Voicu
CISO at Telit
