Practical IoT Security and Penetration testing for Beginners

Explore the internet of things, a network of physical objects with sensors and connectivity that exchange data using artificial intelligence and real-time analytics.

Identify core IoT components, including the thing, sensors, actuators, communicator, and controller, and outline the four-layer architecture from physical perception to semantics, with data collection, analysis, and action.

Explore the IoT threat spectrum across physical, network, and application layers, highlighting unencrypted devices, weak authentication, malware and DDoS risks, and concerns about device integrity and privacy.

Explore how to perform IoT open source intelligence (osint) by gathering manuals, datasheets, patents, and online footprints, and using tools like Shodan and Censys for reconnaissance.

Set up an IoT pen testing lab with VirtualBox, IoT Goat, and Kali Linux, configure a NAT network, and verify connectivity and login access via browser.

Scan the IoT target for open ports with tcp syn and udp scans, then enumerate services with nmap -sV -sC on Kali and IoT goat.

Exploit a discovered backdoor on an IoT device by using netcat to verify port 5515, gain root access, and stabilize an interactive shell via a named pipe with BusyBox.

Crack IoT device credentials by unshadowing /etc/passwd and /etc/shadow, then attack hashes with John the Ripper or Hashcat using the Mirai word list and brute force tools like Hydra, Medusa.

Explore how IoT web interfaces can harbor cross-site scripting vulnerabilities and learn hands-on testing for beginners by injecting JavaScript payloads into login and settings forms.

Learn a nine-stage firmware security testing methodology for embedded devices, from information gathering to binary exploitation, with steps for obtaining, analyzing, and emulating firmware in IoT pen testing.

Extract the IoT goat firmware with Binwalk on Kali Linux, inspect /etc for credentials and password hashes, crack them with Hashcat or John the Ripper using a Mirai wordlist.

Explore firmware analysis to uncover hidden web pages in an IoT device, examine LuCI interfaces on OpenWrt, and identify a command injection page for a reverse shell demonstration.

Download and analyze a real TP-Link MR 3620 firmware, extract it with binwalk, and inspect the root filesystem for ftp credentials, user accounts, and init.d scripts to reveal security weaknesses.

Install Attify OS to deploy a ready-to-use IoT penetration testing VM with pre-configured tools on Ubuntu 18.04, importing the OVA into VirtualBox and launching the VM.

Analyze a D-Link router firmware on Adayfi OS using binwalk to extract a squashfs filesystem, inspect Linux files, and discover hardcoded telnet credentials and a config file password vulnerability.

Emulate a Netgear wifi router firmware using the firmware analysis toolkit and brute force its login credentials with Burp, Foxy Proxy, and the intruder tool to demonstrate credential discovery.

Demonstrate exploiting a blind remote code execution in Netgear wifi router firmware by analyzing firmware, spotting insecure exec usage, and validating with burp repeater, pings, and shadow file access.

Explores how a backdoor can be inserted into a TP-Link router firmware, covering firmware analysis, payload creation, and emulation to test boot behavior.

Analyze MQTT traffic within the publisher-subscriber model by inspecting topics, payloads, and QoS in Wireshark. Explore MQTT concepts like broker, last will, keepalive, retain, and demonstrate with a pcap sample.

Exploit MQTT to perform remote code execution on an IoT device in a TryHackMe bugged room. Learn publish-subscribe basics, base64 decoding, and how to retrieve the flag.

Explore modbus protocol security, including rtU/tcp, master-slave architecture, and register types such as holding, coils, input, and discrete inputs. See attackers read and write registers to compromise a virtual plant.

Analyze industrial control system traffic with Wireshark to map devices, visualize Modbus communications on port 502, and diagnose HMI issues including Modbus query flooding and DDoS.