Hacking_and_Penetration_Testing_with_Low_Power_Devices

CHAPTER
Future directions
10
INFORMATIONINTHISCHAPTER:
• Current extensions to The Deck running on Beagles
• Cape ideas
• Ports to other platforms
• Fun with microcontrollers
INTRODUCTION
We have covered quite a bit of ground in this book. Work on The Deck and hacking
with the Beagles is ongoing, however. Several extensions and new capes are in the
works. A number of ports of The Deck to other platforms are in progress. Even lowerpower
devices based on microcontrollers can be utilized in penetration tests in addition
to using the Beagles. This book might be finished, but hopefully, your adventure
into a new way of penetration testing is just beginning.
CURRENT HAPPENINGS WITH THE DECK
As new hacking tools emerge, they are being added to The Deck where appropriate.
More powerful and efficient versions of standard hacking tools have also been
known to come out from time to time. As a result, The Deck is constantly being
updated.
While we have discussed ways of using the Beagles in this book, we have not
come close to exploiting all the functionality of these incredible devices. In particular,
the ability to use the BeagleBone as a USB device has not been addressed.
The BeagleBone can be used to emulate a number of USB devices such as a human
interface device (HID) and/or mass storage device.
By emulating a USB HID, the BeagleBone can become a pocket-sized hacker that
can type even faster than in the movies. Other researchers have done work on USB
HIDs based on the Teensy Arduino-compatible microcontroller boards. The Beagle-
Bone is considerably more powerful than the Teensy (which has an 8-bit processor
operating at a pedestrian 16 MHz).
If the BeagleBone presents itself as a USB mass storage device, it can be used to
extract data from a target machine. In cases where only certain devices may be
Hacking and Penetration Testing with Low Power Devices
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