Hardware Podcasts

243: Pick a Good One

Embedded.fm · 27 Apr 2018 · 1h 00m · Episode 243

What this episode covers

Michael Barr, CTO of the Barr Group, discusses the results of their annual survey of embedded systems designers, which gathered 1,703 responses from experienced professionals. He highlights alarming statistics regarding security practices, noting that 22% of engineers working on internet-connected devices do not even list security as a requirement, and many fail to use basic protections like encryption or static analysis. The conversation also explores the industry's persistent reliance on C, the surprising lack of version control and bug tracking among some developers, and the educational gaps that leave hardware-trained engineers unprepared for software quality processes.

Most relevant to

established companies

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Barr Group
Products
Fluke, Arduino
Tools
PC Lint, LDRA, GitHub
Also
MISRA, DO 178

Related episodes from other shows

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • The Pragmatic Embedded Podcast · 39m

    Christmas Special

    Hosts Jeff Gable and Luca share war stories from their careers in embedded systems, highlighting the pain of manual testing in helicopter avionics, the chaos of managing requirements with Word and Excel in Dropbox for medical devices, and the technical debt of massive #ifdef blocks in legacy machine tool software. They discuss the industry's slow adoption of modern software practices like version control and CI/CD, contrasting embedded development with web development standards. The episode concludes with book recommendations including 'The Phoenix Project' and 'Team Topologies', and reflections on the future of IoT security and agile adoption in hardware.

    Debugging & failure analysisEmbedded firmware
    6 chapters

  • The Pragmatic Embedded Podcast · 53m

    François Baldassari from Memfault on IoT Observability

    François Baldassari, founder and CEO of Memfault, discusses the evolution of embedded software and the critical need for IoT observability tools. He recounts his experience at Pebble, where a lack of field data led to a severe firmware update bug affecting Android users, which inspired the creation of Memfault's crash reporting and OTA solutions. Baldassari argues that modern embedded teams must adopt agile practices, such as decoupling software from hardware via emulators and implementing 'day 0 updates,' to iterate effectively. He highlights persistent industry challenges, including C language memory management issues, code space constraints, and the emerging crisis of embedded security and privacy.

    Connected products & IoTEmbedded firmware
    8 chapters

  • IoT For All Podcast · 28m

    The State of IoT Development | The Eclipse Foundation's Frédéric Desbiens | Internet of Things Podcast

    Frédéric Desbiens, IoT and Edge Computing Program Manager at The Eclipse Foundation, discusses findings from the 2024 IoT & Embedded Developer Survey Report, highlighting industrial automation and automotive as leading sectors. He details the shift toward sustainability, the critical importance of security measures like post-quantum cryptography and over-the-air updates, and the growing adoption of safety-critical certifications such as ISO 26262. The conversation also covers the rise of open-source hardware, specifically RISC-V and the Open Hardware Foundation, alongside protocol trends like MQTT and SPOT Plug.

    Connected products & IoTSecurity & privacy
    7 chapters

  • IoT For All Podcast · 44m

    Breaking Embedded IoT Systems | Ken Munro, Partner at Pen Test Partners | #IoTMakers E036

    Ken Munro, Partner at Pen Test Partners, explains how his team conducts 'vanilla research' by purchasing and breaking embedded IoT devices to find security vulnerabilities, such as the My Friend Kayla doll and smart heated drinks cups. He argues that security is often treated as an afterthought by startups, leading to catastrophic failures when wrong chipsets are chosen early in development, making over-the-air updates impossible. Munro details the responsible disclosure process, noting that when vendors ignore or stonewall reports, companies often go out of business, and he advocates for government regulation like California's SB 327 to enforce reasonable security controls.

    Security & privacyStarting a product company
    8 chapters

  • Unnamed Reverse Engineering Podcast · 55m

    042 - Diwali in the Morning

    Asmita Jha, an IoT security consultant at Payatu, discusses her transition from embedded firmware development to hardware security and reverse engineering. She details her workflow for analyzing IoT devices like routers and cameras, covering techniques for extracting firmware, decrypting images, and using tools like Ghidra, Binwalk, and QEMU. Jha also shares advice on secure firmware development, emphasizing the importance of avoiding hardcoded credentials and implementing proper secure boot mechanisms.

    Embedded firmwareEDA & CAD tools
    7 chapters

The summary, chapters and topics are generated from the episode’s audio by this directory, not written by Embedded.fm. The episode itself belongs to its publisher.