Best starter Hardware Hacking Toolkit

Author

Amichai Yifrach
30+ years of hands-on experience, Inventor, systems & electronics engineer, expert program manager, coder, cyber security researcher and startups mentor. Expert in Hardware-firmware-software integrated systems development

Many people ask me ‘what are the tools I need to bug in order to practice Hardware Hacking?’

Well, the answer can be as simple as giving you a list, but the truth is that like everything in life, it depends.

It mainly depends on your level of Hardware Hacking and on your future plans on becoming (or not) a professional Hardware Hacker who actually make this his or her day job.

In the following few paragraphs, I tried to list the tools in relation to different levels of knowledge/experience and to different routes in the Hardware Hacking lanes.

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In Class 5 of my ‘Hardware Hacking Expert – Level I’ course, available on trainsec.net, I demonstrate and list the tools I am using in my Hardware Hacking Challenges with real clients, and this blog is built accordingly.

For more clarification I had divided the various tools for according to my “Hardware Hacking Expert” course levels, and according to the use. Hope you’ll find it helpful.

I compiled the tools is this blog to a list in Amazon so you can find them easily (link below)

Two last things before we dive in: 

First, If you buy something and you are really going to take Hardware Hacking all the way, invest in the best quality tools as you can. It will prove the cheapest long term – trust me!

With all that said, I really don’t encourage buying every tool or gadget you find online or is associated with Hardware Hacking. You will find yourself spending hundreds of dollars for things that will only get you to a point but will not make you the expert who can take any system and hack it like I am teaching in my classes.

Putting the right ingredients in a pot, following a recipe, and even producing a great dish you saw online will not make you a chef, no matter how many good, sophisticated and expensive kitchen tools and gadgets you have. A good chef can adapt and make a Michelin dish from whatever scraps are in the fridge and with only few basic tools. Same goes for Hardware Hacking Expert.

Now, let’s dive in..

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Level 1 tool kit

On the first level, you are making you first steps down the Hardware Hacking rabbit hole, learning the fundamentals, the theories and the concepts behind the actual hacking, building your knowledge and first experience with Embedded Systems, wired and wireless communication protocols, hacking methodology and more. This is when you start feeling the itch to get your hands dirty and dissect your first actual gizmos practicing the crazy thing you see in class on actual access control systems, drones, cars, routers and more…

So, first thing first.

Basic mechanics

In order to safely pry open the gizmo on your desk, you will need some actual hardware tools.

Screw opening kit

Screw opening kit

My first toolkit that I never leave cave without is my trusty Mini-Ratchet kit. It includes almost every screw opening apparatus you will need. Elen, Philips, Flatheads, Star and more for all sizes and for both metric and imperial sizes. 

The ratchet can be easily changed for different jobs as a screwdriver or a ratchet.

During the years I collected and added to my kit more bit sizes and tip heads, so it is really all in one red little box. 


Bolts opening kit

Bolts opening kit

To complete the set for hex head and bolts, I have the a socket ratchet mini kit which is sufficient for most jobs, and of a top quality.

Bolts opening kit -2

I didn’t find the kit I use in amazon, but I found this  twin kit in Amazon where it also includes some cool tiphaeds bits, but any other top brand will do too.

cutter knife

No toolkit is complete without a good top brand box cutter knife. I use both cheap box cutter knife and also high end and surjon scalpel for more delicate tasks like prying open g lued or ultrasonic fused shells of a sensor.

And practically these are all the mechanical tools I use for almost all of my ystem stripping tasks.

Electronics Hardware

Most of our work during Hardware Hacking is down to electronics. This is why we need to have at least some basic electrician tools. Following are the mechanical toolk followed by the electrical tools:

Anti static Mat

Anti static Mat

we work with electronics, and one of the top electronics killer is electro-static shock. This mat prevents it. But the true reason to buy it that it makes things more organised and your desk really looks like you mean business… and you don’t make scratch or burn marks on your desk.


Cutters & Pliers

Cutters

for most jobs a set of three cutter & plier wil do. Needle nose plier, general purpose shearcutter and a more tough Oval Hear cutter. The first two are for the electrical wiring manipulations you might want to do, the third on is for heavier duties cutting tasks such as this plastic cover removals, wire stripping (though we have other tools for it) and more. With that said, never usr the cutter for cutting wires other that electrical wires up to #8, you might damage your tool. Buy only the top brends.


Stripper

Stripper

yes, we work with strippers… invest in a good stripper. True, one can strip a wire using a cutter, but believe me, when you want to strip a wire delecately prescisly and controllably, use a mechanic stripper like mine.

This tool is adjustable in almost every aspect of wire stripping. Gage, length, jacket removal etc.

Again, invest in top brand for this stripper.


Tweezers & Picker

Picker
Tweezers

I use two kinds of tweezers, a straight and a curved. I guess it is a matter of practice until you know which to use when. For me, I am using the curved one for holding parts stable while I solder then and for extracting prats by heat, and the straight one for delicate  manipulation of wires and the picker is best for chip, parts and lost mini washers picking.


Marvin

Marvin

well, I call it Marvin, it really looks like a paranoid android, doesn’t it? 

It’s a truly helping hand on your desk you’ll never imagine how much. I use it for everything requiring a 6DOF stable little helper.

I know there are more sophisticated, more and more articulated kinds of helpers, but there is only one Marvin. Small desk footprint, giant helping tool/friend…

Basic Electronics tools

Digital Multimeter

Digital Multimeter

you can do almost nothing without it. I have one in my cave, one in my mobile cave (it’s a business trolly containing everything I have in the cave but smaller and more mobile for field jobs) and one in my pocket for time I’m out without my mobile cave.

For now, I recommend buying the portable one which I use in my lab. I have it for I don’t know how many years now, definitely more than 15 (see it in my video), and the only time I maintained it was changing the battery. And believe me, this puppy was with me in some rough environment. So, buy the best brand possible. Make sure it includes voltmeter (DC & AC), ohmmeter, amperemeter, continuity mode and diode testing mode. 


Oscilloscope (Scope)

Scope
Oscilloscope

well this is tricky. You must have some kind of signal monitoring device such as the scope, but the good one’s costs plenty. I use two scopes; one in my cave desk, a scope I bought in a bargain more than 12 years ago. It’s portable, comes with a case and probs, and practically taking it in my mobile cave whenever I need to, even though I have smaller more mobile kind. It out of stock in Amazon and it costs about 1,000$, so I don’t recommend you on buying it until you have the funds for it. Knowing you ARE going to invest in a better top brand scope, for now you can use a lower cost good brand portable scope like I included on my list


Soldering station

Soldering station

again, it all depends on how serious are you in going all the way with Hardware Hacking. Professionals invest good money here. Amateur can do well with low end type.

I recommend the Weller brand as they are the best and with the most accessories available. A good starting point is the one I recommended on Amazon. Make sure you have electronics tip (at least one, two or more tip sizes are best)


Hot air station

Hot air station

for removal of components with more than few pads, I use this station. I also use this to loosen up Loctite glued screws. I didn’t find on Amazon the one I use but found a close cousin of it. Its not a must for the first level, but good to have.


Soldering Wire

Soldering Wire

food for the Soldering iron, buy top brands, thin but not too thin – 0.5mm works best for me.


Soldering Flux

Soldering Flux

this is a must if you do a lot of soldering (yes, we do). It works like magic, making reluctant old solder point fresh and submissive to your Iron. 


Desoldering wick

Desoldering wick

great tool when removing parts from a board or opening through all ports. Why we do so, see on level II. For now, it’s a good practice.


Power supply

Power supply

we want to turn on systems… we need power Scotty. I use a middle tier power supply. Make sure you can produce at least 30V@5ADC. Also make sure you have current consumption reading. It will alert you when you are about to WPS a system.

And that’s about it regarding almost any electronic geek tools. Let’s go no to the Hardware Hacker specific tools

Hardware Hacking Specific Tools

Serial protocols converters

FTDI cables which converts serial protocols to USB

these little gizmos make your life easier when it comes to serial communication RE and hacking. 

Start with FTDI cables which converts serial protocols to USB:

  • UART (TTL)
  • RS232
  • RS422
  • RS485
  • I2C, SPI, JTAG (MPSSE)

RS232 to anything converter

I also have RS232 to anything converters that I collected over the years; you don’t have to buy them too if you have FTDI cables, cost some $ but they are smaller to travel with:

  • UART (TTL) to RS232
  • RS422/485 to RS232


Jumper wires

Jumper wires

we are hackers, we sniff signals, get in between parties, inject signals and more fun stuff. We can’t do any of this without jumper wires. I have tons of them all over. 

They are easy to make if you are good with soldering, but they are very cheap and make life flow better. 

Make sure to always have Male-Male, Male-Female and Female-Female types.


Test Hook Clips

Test Hook Clips
Test Hook Clips

best for chip pin probing, signal analysis, firmware extraction and more.

Buy single ended and the SOIC8 clamp for better faster flash device manipulations


FT4232h-mini module

FT4232h-mini module
FT4232h-mini module

ok my Padawans, this is your first Swiss army knife for Hardware Hacking training and practicing. This gizmo exposes 4 general purpose customizable ports which can be configured to almost any relevant serial communication protocol such as UART, I2C, SPI, FIFO, JTAG and more. Mastering this device and its MPSSE functionality (read docs) will save you hundreds of $$ while really understanding what you are doing, adapting and customizing this tool to your tasks. I recommend buying 2-4 pieces of this little gizmo so you can make hacking tools yourselves. On level 1, I am introducing this device and demonstrating basic link setup and sniffing for most protocols, while on level II I will teach all about this device and how to fully master it conducting some complex hacking work.

I couldn’t find my module on Amazon but I found a twin module you can buy. If you want the one I have you can find it in DigiKey (PN 768-1031-ND)


Logic Analyzer

Logic Analyzer

this is you first actual hacking tool. Its limited but is very good for making your first baby steps into the Hardware Hacking world. Sniffing and analyzing serial communication protocols such as UART, SPI, I2C and more.

You would need to download the PulseView software or equivalent. I am demonstrating using it in my classes. 


NFC/RFID reader writer

RFID reader writer

an intro level device for practicing NFC and RFID hacking. With this device you can Read, Clone, RE most of the basic (and some of the not so basic) RFID & NFC protocols and standards. Getting access to the raw data gives you the concrete understanding of the technology and protocols through active experience. Make sure to buy a reader with writing capabilities and as wide protocols and technology as possible (frequency, technology, protocols).


nRF52840

nRF52840

The nRF52840 Dongle is a low-cost, versatile USB development dongle for Bluetooth Low Energy, ANT, IEEE 802.15.4, and user-proprietary 2.4 GHz applications using the nRF52840 SoC.

Because it was designed for developers, it comes with comprehensive SDK and open-source example for almost everything wireless. 

The raw access to all layers in every protocol makes this tool perfect for RE, sniffing and more but also for Relay-Replay attacks when combined with other devices as I will show on level II.

USB development dongle for Bluetooth Low Energy

Beginners can use this tool for better understand the black magic behind wireless communication, sharpen their knowledge at the basic protocols (BT, BLE, IEEE 802.15.4, RFID, NFC and more).

I didn’t find in Amazon the one I am using but I found the next best thig (same chip just over dressed) – never tested it myself. If you want to find what I am using you can find it in DigiKey (PN 1490-1073-ND).

That’s it for Level 1

On Class 5 I am showing how to use most of the above tools, and also showing some tools that are not in this list as preview for Level 2

Following is a link to Amazon list in which you can find all of the above Items:

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/3PA5DXEFQ76JX?ref_=wl_share

On level 2 I will publish a new list which will save you hundreds of $$ while letting you enjoy the flexibility, agility and power of true Hardware Hacking Expert. Stay tuned.

blue depth

About the author

Amichai Yifrach
30+ years of hands-on experience, Inventor, systems & electronics engineer, expert program manager, coder, cyber security researcher and startups mentor. Expert in Hardware-firmware-software integrated systems development

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