NEW COURSE: VHL IoT Penetration Testing Essentials

Master the fundamentals of IoT security testing with the new VHL IoT Penetration Testing Essentials course! This hands-on training program equips you with practical skills to identify and exploit vulnerabilities in IoT devices. You’ll dive into key topics like hardware hacking, firmware analysis, serial communication protocols, reverse engineering, debugging, and emulation. Build real-world skills and gain the confidence to tackle IoT security assessments head-on.

Course curriculum

The IoT Penetration Testing Essentials course contains the following modules:

  1. IoT introduction
  2. Security and Disclaimer
  3. Legislation, standards and guidelines
  4. Hardware hacking lab tools
  5. IoT Recon 1: Specifications & Information
  6. IoT Recon 2: Network, Configuration & Vulnerabilities
  7. IoT Recon 3: Hardware & Components
  8. Serial Communication
  9. UART communication
  10. I2C communication
  11. SPI communication
  12. JTAG/SWD communication
  13. Obtaining IoT firmware
  14. Static firmware analysis
  15. Ghidra reverse engineering
  16. QEMU emulation
  17. Debugging with GDB
  18. Identifying vulnerabilities
  19. Responsible Disclosure of vulnerabilities

After completing this course, you will be able to:

  • Identify vulnerabilities and risks in hardware, software and configuration of IoT devices.
  • Identify the various hardware elements of IoT devices, such as hardware debug interfaces, flash memory chips and microcontrollers.
  • Apply various techniques to obtain the firmware of an IoT device and determine the best technique to use based on the advantages and disadvantages of each technique.
  • Analyze and understand various serial communication protocols, such as UART, SPI, I2C and JTAG/SWD.
  • Apply various tools to analyze the firmware of an IoT device, including file, strings, readelf, Binwalk, Ghidra and GDB.
  • Emulate binaries and firmware with QEMU.
  • Debug binaries and firmware with GDB.
  • Discover new Buffer Overflow and Remote Code Execution vulnerabilities in IoT firmware.
  • Discover vulnerabilities, disclose them responsibly and register CVE’s.
  • And more…

 

View Full Course Curriculum

Case studies & Practical Assignments

Instead of online labs this course contains case study and practical assignment lessons to get hands-on experience with pentesting IoT devices. In these lessons we will be opening IoT devices, inspecting PCB components, programming I2C peripherals, identify JTAG interfaces and create tools based on the Raspberry Pi Pico to communicate with JTAG interfaces. We will also sniff BitLocker keys via SPI on Windows 11, reverse engineer firmware functions of IoT devices with Ghidra, emulate and debug systems with QEMU and GDB and learn how to discover new critical vulnerabilities and register a CVE ID.

Hardware Requirements

To successfully complete the IoT Penetration Testing Essentials course, there’s no need to purchase any hardware tools, components, or devices in advance—this is entirely optional. The course explains in detail how the target IoT devices are put together and how various hardware hacking tools are applied to these test devices. The output from these tools—typically measurements, captured data, firmware files, or other relevant files—will be included in the course materials for use in practical assignments and your own research. This means you won’t need to invest in any test tools or target devices to successfully complete the course.

If you’d like to gain hands-on experience with hacking actual hardware devices, you’ll need some basic tools, components, and target or test devices. These targets can be the same IoT devices featured in the course, but you’re also encouraged to explore other devices to deepen your understanding and get the most out of your learning experience.

We recommend to first complete the theoretical part of the course and the software-related practical assignments. Then decide what you want to do with the practical side of hardware hacking and what tools and components you need for that. The minimum required hardware hacking tools, are a multimeter, logic analyzer, CH340 USB to serial adapter, CH341 programmer, opening and hand tools, wires and clips, and IoT targets for testing. Some of these tools, such as the CH340 and CH341 tools, can also be configured on a Raspberry Pi device.

Target audience

The IoT Penetration Testing Essentials course by Virtual Hacking Labs is designed to provide comprehensive training in IoT security testing. Covering a wide range of topics, this course is tailored for beginning and experienced penetration testers, security analysts, and IoT system engineers who want to strengthen their skills in securing IoT devices. The course begins with foundational knowledge, explaining the risks and vulnerabilities associated with IoT. It then progresses to advanced topics, including hardware hacking, serial communication protocols, firmware extraction and analysis, and vulnerability identification. Students also gain hands-on experience with the output of tools, such as multimeters, logic analyzers, software-defined radios, and chip programming tools, which are critical for assessing the security of IoT devices.

Prerequisites

While no extensive prior knowledge is required, it is recommended that participants have a basic understanding of virtual operating systems, Kali Linux, TCP/IP networking, and command-line operations. Limited experience in penetration testing and programming can be beneficial, but those without prior exposure may need to conduct additional research to fully grasp certain concepts.

Examination & Certification

We are currently developing an exam for the VHL IoT Pentesting Essentials course that closely aligns with the techniques covered throughout the course. The design goal for the exam is an assessment that evaluates the essential skills required to identify and analyze both known and new vulnerabilities in IoT devices. Rather than simply reiterating the techniques covered in the course material, the exam will present a standalone case scenario that mirrors real-world challenges. This approach ensures that candidates demonstrate not only their technical knowledge but also their ability to think critically, apply problem-solving skills, and adapt to novel security testing situations, just as they would in a real penetration testing environment.

The exam will be available by the end of Q2/2025.

Pricing & Discounts

At VHL we strive to keep our courses affordable and accessible to a wide audience, while continuing to develop and maintain the highest quality content. Because of this commitment, we rarely offer large discounts. However, to celebrate the launch of our newest course, we’re offering an exclusive, limited-time discount for previous VHL customers. A coupon code will be send in the upcoming days to previous VHL customers. Have you purchased a course at VHL before and don’t want to wait? Contact us for a coupon code.

Membership Plans

There are two membership plans available for the IoT Penetration Testing Essentials course. The 12 month plan is the recommended plan for anyone that wants to complete the course at a normal pace. The 6 month plan is available for fast learners or anyone with prior experience in IoT penetration testing.

Got questions?

Check out the dedicated FAQ section for the IoT Penetration Testing Essentials course.

IoT Penetration Testing FAQ