8 Ways Raspberry Pi Can Help You Master Internet Security Skills

Internet security is becoming an increasingly important topic. It’s easy to see why, with high-profile hacks and an ever-increasing trend in data collection. Your information has never been exposed to such risk. The increasing use of technology in everyday security is also changing how law enforcement works.

Other than a good password policy and keeping track of obvious scammers, what can you do to protect yourself? Learning more about how information and technology security works is a significant step.

These DIY projects using the Raspberry Pi are the perfect place to start.

1. Kali Linux: Security OS

The best way to learn how hacking works is to learn how to hack! Kali Linux is a security-focused Linux distribution approved by penetration testers and ethical hackers.

Kali Linux is also available for ARM systems like the Raspberry Pi and is easy to install. The OS has several specialized tools for the practical study of information security issues. In addition, the portability of the Pi makes it a desirable device for professional penetration testers.

However, if you don’t know your local laws very well, I would keep looking into your home network!

2. CIRClean: USB Sanitizer

CIRClean USB disinfectant — Image credit: CIRClean

CIRClean (also known as «Kittengroomer», a much better name) is a project designed to protect both people and information. It aims to solve several problems for journalists in some parts of the world, as outlined in an interview with the official Raspberry Pi blog:

“We need to securely extract information from the USB key without plugging it into any computer we ever want to use again.
You need a «locked» (not connected to the network) machine in case it tries to talk about you with a weapon
The second laptop is impractical and raises too many questions
Virtual machines require the ability to use them (and people are stupid/lazy)
Virtual machines expose the host machine to whatever is plugged in anyway.”

The answer to all these problems? A dedicated secure OS image designed to perform only one task. Safely transfer information from a potentially infected USB drive to a clean and secure USB drive without transferring malware or alerting anyone to the transfer.

The project is also the perfect way to safely read the contents of potentially dangerous old USB sticks you haven’t looked at since university!

3. PoisonTap: Evil Pi Zero

PoisonTap is an invention of American privacy and security researcher Samy Kamkar. Using only the Raspberry Pi Zero, PoisonTap can infiltrate any computer, even if it is locked or password protected.

Powered by a USB port, it emulates an Ethernet over USB connection before capturing all internet traffic. As if that weren’t enough, PoisonTap installs a permanent backdoor on the system, allowing a hacker to retain access long after the Pi is turned off. By injecting attack code into an open browser, PoisonTap hijacks over a million websites, inserts false frames, and steals data about every web request a user has made since.

This incredibly nasty software is hard to protect against and it’s no surprise that Sami refers to «USB port cement» in the description of his video.

4. Make the Ultimate Honeypot

A honeypot emulates a vulnerability in a program or network in order to attract an outside attack. SNARE ( S uper N ext generations, improved effective honpot) and TANNER work in tandem to attract and evaluate potential hacking attempts.

SNARE runs on any Linux system, making it perfect for the Pi. Once installed, enter the URL of the site you want to test to create a clone. A running SNARE hosts a copy of the site at the Pi’s IP address and logs all requests made to the site. TANNER is a tool for analyzing events, preparing various responses and visualizing data through a web interface.

Learning how the network functions and what to look for if something goes wrong is an important step towards building secure systems.

5. Face recognition using OpenCV

Facial recognition is widely used in surveillance, but you can implement it yourself with a Raspberry Pi. The project requires a Pi and a camera module (plus a battery to make it truly mobile) and uses OpenCV for face recognition. Hackster.io user MJRoBot has a detailed guide on getting it up and running.

This is a much more «physical» use of security for the Pi. Portable and easily expandable, systems are an additional form of entry protection that can be directly connected to interlock or alarm hardware.

In the meantime, this project can be extended by implementing a TensorFlow neural network on your Pi. to classify the collected images. In an environment where machine learning is playing an increasingly important role in security. and observation, this would be a great introduction to the basic concepts.

6. Nagios network monitoring

Nagios provides network monitoring for enterprises and its common use cases are not security oriented. However, having an independent monitoring tool is an essential part of secure network management, and Nagios for Pi can provide it.

As the video above shows, and by monitoring all network traffic, you can use it to protect yourself from website corruption. Installing Nagios on the Pi pretty simple. There is a link in the comments section of this article to a compiled version from source — if you don’t want to create a completely new image.

Nagios can be somewhat of a rabbit hole of features and settings. As the tutorial says, take it slow or you’ll overwhelm yourself with data!

7. Create a Pi-Hole

Pi-hole is a free tool designed to completely block ads on your home network. Ad blocking doesn’t appear to be a security issue at first glance, but many disagree. With a huge number of scammers and hackers using fraudulent pop-ups to initiate phone scams and malware embedded in ads, Pi-hole can save you from more than just annoyance.

Pi-hole installation is a simple process Do you believe that ad blocking is not a big problem. or you think it’s ethically wrong. you can’t deny the extra layer of protection that Pi-hole has to offer web users.

8. Destroy the evil corporation

While Mr. Robot may be a fictional show, using a Raspberry Pi to hack environmental protections at a safe facility is indeed possible.