Helpful tools to get started in IoT Assessments

Helpful tools to get started in IoT Assessments

The Internet of Things (IoT) can be a daunting field to get into. With many different tools and products available on the market it can be confusing to even know where to start. Having performed dozens of IoT assessments, I felt it would be beneficial to compile a basic list of items that are essential to getting started delving into the realm of testing embedded devices. The tools that will be covered in this post are primarily used to interact with the debug interface of embedded devices, however, many of them have multiple functions, from reading data from a memory chip to removing components from the physical circuit board. I would like to note that neither I, nor Rapid7, benefit in any way from the sale of any of these products. We honestly believe they are useful tools for any beginner.

1) Serial Debugger

One of the most used items when it comes to IoT testing would be a device used to interface with low-speed interfaces available on embedded devices. Gaining access to the debug interface on embedded devices is the easiest way to get a look under the hood of how the device is operating. One of the most popular and readily available devices on the market currently would be the Tigard.

The Tigard is a great open-source tool that has support for all the commonly used interfaces you might encounter on modern day embedded devices. It has support for Universal Asynchronous Receiver-Transmitter (UART), Joint Test Access Group (JTAG), Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI), Inter-Integrated Circuit (I2C), and Serial Wire Debug (SWD) connections. This device allows you to connect to various serial consoles or even extract the contents of commonly found flash memory chips. It is powered by a USB-C connection and also ..

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