Cybersecurity Awareness Month:
Build Embedded Systems That Are Secure by Design
October marks Cybersecurity Awareness Month… a timely reminder for engineers and innovators across industries to prioritize security. As cyber threats become more advanced, ensuring your embedded systems are protected is more critical than ever.
If you’re designing a device for medical, industrial, commercial, or automotive/aerospace applications, your embedded touchscreen display isn’t just a user interface—it’s a potential attack surface. And it must be secure.
DHS & CISA Guidance: Simple Steps, Big Impact
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Cybersecurity Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) recommend foundational security practices for embedded systems:
- Secure boot to prevent unauthorized code execution
- Timely software updates to close vulnerabilities
- Minimal attack surface by disabling unused services[2]
These aren’t optional—they’re essential to keep your embedded displays safe.
Cybersecurity Awareness for Embedded Touchscreen Displays: What OEM Engineers Need to Know
In today’s connected world, cybersecurity is no longer a concern reserved for servers, desktops, or mobile devices. Embedded touchscreen displays—used in everything from medical devices and industrial controls to consumer appliances—are increasingly becoming targets for cyber threats. Yet, these interfaces are often overlooked when it comes to implementing robust security measures.
Why Embedded Touchscreens Are Often Overlooked
Embedded displays are typically seen as peripheral components, designed to provide user interaction rather than serve as computing platforms. This perception leads to several common oversights:
- Limited Security Budgets: Security resources are often allocated to core systems, leaving the display interface under-protected.
- Assumption of Isolation: Many assume embedded systems are isolated from external networks, which is rarely the case in modern IoT environments.
- Legacy Designs: Older platforms may lack the hardware or software capabilities to support modern security protocols.
- Minimal OS Footprint: Lightweight operating systems used in embedded displays may not include built-in security features.
These factors make embedded touchscreens a weak link in the security chain—one that attackers are increasingly exploiting.
Key Security Measures for Embedded Displays
Building on the foundational steps already referenced above by DHS and CISA, OEM engineers should further enhance the security of embedded touchscreen platforms by considering the following additional measures during the design and development process:
- Secure Boot and Firmware Validation: Ensure the system only boots trusted firmware by implementing cryptographic validation at startup.
- Minimize Attack Surfaces: Disable unused services and close unnecessary ports
- Configure Firewalls: Control traffic flow and block unauthorized access
- Authentication and Access Control: Implement user authentication and role-based access to prevent unauthorized use or configuration changes.
- Regular Software Updates: Design systems with update mechanisms that allow for secure patching of vulnerabilities post-deployment.
- Compliance with Industry Standards: Ensure alignment with applicable cybersecurity and safety standards relevant to the specific sector or technology domain, such as those governing industrial systems, healthcare devices, or automotive systems.
Reach Technology’s Approach to Embedded Display Security
At Reach Technology, we understand that security isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution—especially for OEMs with unique requirements and industry-specific standards. That’s why our process doesn’t start with an off-the-shelf product. It starts with a conversation.
We sit down with your design and engineering teams to understand:
- What threats are most relevant to your application?
- What regulatory standards must your product meet?
- What level of security is appropriate for your device’s lifecycle?
From there, we help you implement the right measures—from secure boot to encrypted communications—tailored to your platform and industry.
From Conversation to Custom Security: A Simple Path to Secure Embedded Displays
Once we understand your application, industry standards, and security priorities, the process is straightforward:
- We scope your project’s security and performance requirements
- Develop a prototype with your preferred I/O, display type, and OS
- Implement key security features like secure boot, firewall rules, and update mechanisms
- Provide documentation to support compliance and integration
Whether you’re designing a handheld diagnostic tool, an industrial controller, or a smart vehicle interface, we make it easy to build security into every layer—from hardware to software.
Explore our Secure Display Module page to see how we can help OEMs like you stay ahead of cybersecurity threats. [1].
Let’s Build Your Secure Display Together
We can engineer secure embedded touchscreen displays tailored to your exact specifications.
If you’re an OEM engineer looking to integrate cybersecurity into your embedded touchscreen design, reach out to our engineering and sales team today to start a conversation about your security needs. We’ll help you build a custom solution that meets industry standards, incorporates best practices, and protects your users and data.
References
[2] www.dhs.gov
