Go Go Gadget Python! Introduction to Hardware Hacking

Presented at DEF CON 18 (2010), July 29, 2010, 1 p.m. (60 minutes)

So you know that embedded devices are everywhere, even attended some talks here about hardware security. Perhaps you've thought how nice it would be to make a linux USB driver for some windows-only device, or you've got something proprietary you would like to reverse-engineer and circuit-bend for your next big scheme. But how does a software person enter the world of circuits? And once you have some circuits, how can you bring the data back into your box? Bridging the worlds of hardware and software, two electrical engineers will answer your questions while showing you how to pwn some sweet hardware and charm it over the USB port with Python. From our own trials and tribulations building and hacking real devices, from a simple USB missile launcher to a complex biomedical data acquisition system, you will learn about USB packet sniffing, rapid-prototyping device drivers in python, deciphering circuit boards and data sheets for fun & profit, and the use of electrical test equipment. We aim to leave you armed and ready to take on hardware of your own.

Presenters:

  • Furkan Cayci
    Furkan Cayci is a graduate student in Electrical Engineering at UD. He has lots of interests ranging from low level hardware design to top level coding. He can usually either be found in front of his laptop trying to fix a broken package, or in front of a chess board at a coffee shop.
  • Nick Waite
    Nick Waite likes technology, nature, and freedom, and wants to see society embrace them all in a balanced way. Undermining walled gardens is a hobby, and he believes that the coolest discoveries of the future will come from interdisciplinary collaboration. Interests involve the fusion of bio & tech: ESP, brain-hacking with TMS & biofeedback, chemistry, bio-inspired materials & algorithms, and various other magics. For his day job, he designs, builds, and tests analog & mixed-signal gadgets with the CVORG research group.

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