Get Started with Ethical Hacking Using Kali Linux and Raspberry Pi

Ethical hacking is a great way to unleash your inner Mr. Robot. And what better way to develop these skills than with the help of one of the best hacking tools?

We are talking about Kali Linux on your Raspberry Pi 3! Raspberry Pi 3 running Kali Linux is surprisingly dangerous to hack. The tiny computer is cheap, powerful and versatile.

In fact, Kali Linux comes with everything you need to expand your ethical hacking skills. This is how you boot Kali Linux on Raspberry Pi 3.

What is Kali Linux?

Kali Linux is a Linux distribution based on Debian. Kali Linux is primarily used for security research, penetration testing, and security auditing, though it also has more nefarious uses.

That being said, Kali comes with hundreds of specialized security tools that professionals use for digital forensics, investigations, infiltrations, malware analysis, reverse engineering, and more.

Kali Linux is a powerful tool in the right hands. But it’s also a useful tool for (almost) anyone who wants to learn more about security.

What you need

To complete this Kali Linux on Raspberry Pi 3 tutorial, you will need the following hardware:

Raspberry Pi 3 (although builds are available for Raspberry Pi 1, 2 and Zero)
8 GB (or more) class 10 microSD with full size SD adapter
network cable
HDMI cable
5V 2A MicroUSB power supply
USB keyboard and USB mouse

You need an HDMI cable to connect your Raspberry Pi running Kali Linux to your monitor to make sure everything is set up correctly. A USB keyboard and USB mouse are essential for interacting with Kali Linux after installation. Once you’re fully up and running, it’s possible to set up a remote connection to access and use Kali, but for now, ethernet connectivity and regular peripherals are easier to get the hang of.

Need help with this lesson? Watch our video below for a complete step by step guide to installing Kali Linux on Raspberry Pi 3:

Step 1: Install Kali Linux on Raspberry Pi 3

Go to the Kali Linux ARM images download page and open the dropdown Raspberry Pi Foundation . Then choose a link Kali Linux Raspberry Pi 2 and 3 (you can move the file if you want). Find the Kali Linux folder, open it and extract the Kali Linux compressed archive (file extension .XZ ) to the same folder.

Next, you need to burn the Kali Linux image to your microSD card. To do this, you’ll need an image capture tool like Etcher, which you can find on etcher.io. There are many tools for making bootable disks, but in this case I would suggest using Rufus. Go to the Rufus download page, then download and install the image capture utility.

Insert a microSD card into your system. Open Rufus. Select a drive letter for the microSD card under » Device» . Find the location of the Kali Linux image using the button SELECT . Make sure that Quick Format selected, then click » Start» and wait for the data to be written.

When done, remove the microSD card and grab your Raspberry Pi 3 — time for the next step!

Step 2: Boot into Kali Linux on Raspberry Pi 3

Insert a microSD card into your Raspberry Pi 3. Insert an HDMI cable and an Ethernet cable, and a USB keyboard and USB mouse. Finally, plug in the microUSB cable to turn on your Raspberry Pi 3.

The boot process shouldn’t take too long, but the screen may flicker and go blank in dots. The default login username is root, and the password is toor .

Update Kali Linux

Before you start exploring countless security programs, you should check for updates. The operating system should automatically connect to the Internet using an Ethernet cable.

Right click on the desktop and select » Open a new terminal» then enter the following commands:

apt-get update apt-get upgrade apt-get dist-upgrade

These commands update the Kali installation. Unfortunately, the update and upgrade process takes a few minutes, but it’s important. If you would like to remotely communicate with your Kali Raspberry Pi, please proceed to the next section of the guide.

linux terminal update

Step 3: Install OpenSSH for Remote Connections

You don’t want to plug your Kali Linux Raspberry Pi into a monitor every time you want to use it. No, it’s not exactly practical.

Instead, you can install OpenSSH to allow us to connect and run commands on the device. remotely. You can follow this aspect of the tutorial while your Raspberry Pi is connected to your monitor (so you can see what you’re doing).

Enter the following commands in a terminal to install the OpenSSH server:

 apt-get install openssh-server update-rc.d -f ssh remove update-rc.d -f ssh defaults

Next, you need to remove the default encryption keys. Because they are default keys, they are an easy-to-remove vulnerability. The following commands create a new directory where the old keys will be uploaded when creating a set of new SSH keys in the process.

 cd /etc/ssh/ mkdir oldkeys mv ssh_host* oldkeys dpkg-reconfigure openssh-server

Now you need to set up your SSH login information. Edit the OpenSSH configuration file in nano:

 nano /etc/ssh/sshd_config

You are looking for one line:

 PermitRootLogin without-password

Change it to:

 PermitRootLogin yes

Navigate to the configuration data file using the arrow keys or the mouse. Click ctrl + o to save any changes, and ctrl+X, to return to the terminal. If the setting is already set to «Yes», do not change anything.

Now you can check if the OpenSSH service is running using the following command:

 sudo service ssh restart update-rc.d -f ssh enable 2 3 4 5

If the service is not running, start it with the following command:

 sudo service ssh start

Now check the internet configuration of your Kali Linux Raspberry Pi 3 by entering the following command:

 ifconfig

Write down the IP address of your Raspberry Pi 3 — you’ll need it in a minute. If your team ifconfig does not display your Raspberry Pi, run the following command to make sure network services are running:

 sudo apt-get install net-tools

Then run the command ifconfig and copy the Raspberry Pi’s IP address.

Step 4: Add Your Personal Message of the Day

When you log into your Raspberry Pi 3 with Kali Linux using OpenSSH, you will be greeted with a «Message of the Day» banner. You can edit the Message of the Day (MOTD) to display a personalized message.

I went with a very simple welcome message, but you can illustrate your hacker credentials with an Ascii image via this converter. Go ahead, get creative!

When you’re done, use the following command to open the MOTD setup screen:

 nano /etc/motd

Copy and paste your message, then save and exit by clicking Ctrl+O then Ctrl + X