Resources

A comprehensive, living list of communities, courses, tooling, docs, datasets, and events across Wi-Fi, BLE, RFID/NFC, Sub-GHz, IR, SDR, hardware hacking, and implants. Learn responsibly—always within your legal scope and lab environment.

Communities & Forums

Hak5 Forums — discussion for WiFi Pineapple, LAN Turtle, Packet Squirrel, etc.
Flipper Zero Discord — active mod/plugin community for RFID, IR, Sub-GHz workflows.
r/AskNetsec — practical infosec Q&A; good for general security questions.
RTL-SDR Blog — steady stream of SDR projects, decoders, antennas, and how-tos.
SDR groups.io — community for SDRangel/GQRX/GNU Radio workflows.
GitHub SDR topic — trending SDR projects to watch/contribute.
RF Hackers Sanctuary — organizers behind RF villages at DEF CON & beyond.

Books & Longform Guides

Practical IoT Hacking — approachable coverage of BLE/RF/firmware labs (No Starch).
The Hardware Hacking Handbook — fault injection, side-channel, and debug interfaces.
RFID Handbook (Finkenzeller) — the staple reference for RFID/NFC systems and security.
Software Defined Radio with HackRF — SDR concepts with HackRF examples (Great Scott Gadgets).
The Art of Electronics — fundamentals for electronics & measurement (for hardware labs).
Linux Basics for Hackers — essential Linux skills for penetration testing and security research.
Practical SDR — hands-on software-defined radio techniques and applications.
Microcontroller Exploits — attacking embedded systems and IoT devices.
The Car Hacker's Handbook — automotive security research and penetration testing.

Courses & Hands-On Labs

GNU Radio tutorials — official wiki & blocks introduction; build flowgraphs for modulation/demodulation.
Great Scott Gadgets workshops — HackRF/SDR live trainings (recordings often available).
RF Village / Hardware Hacking Village labs — event-based, but many lab guides live on GitHub after conferences.
ChipWhisperer training — intro to side-channel (power analysis) and glitching labs.
nRF Connect how-tos — BLE sniffing, GATT exploration, and device/service testing.

Tip: Build a tiny home lab (attentuators, spare AP, test client, dummy tags). Practice only on your own kit.

Core Tools by Domain

Wi-Fi

Kismet — passive recon, logging, and device tracking (supports many radios).
Wireshark — packet capture/analysis; dissectors for 802.11 and EAP.
Aircrack-ng suite — capture/analysis utilities; chipset-dependent features.
hcxdumptool & hcxtools — handshake/PMKID workflows for lab testing.
hostapd / wpa_supplicant — foundational AP/client software for controlled experiments.
Bettercap — multi-protocol framework with Wi-Fi/BLE modules (use only in lab scope).
Scapy (Dot11) — Python packet crafting for research/education.

Bluetooth / BLE

nRF Connect (Android/iOS/desktop) — scanning, GATT exploration, and testing.
BlueZ (Linux: btmon, btmgmt) — low-level Bluetooth tooling.
Ubertooth + Ubertooth tools — classic BLE sniffing workflows.
Bleak (Python) — cross-platform GATT client library.
Wireshark — BLE HCI capture/analysis support.

RFID / NFC

Proxmark3 client — reads, emulates, and analyzes LF/HF; deep-dive commands.
libnfc, mfoc, mfcuk — MIFARE tooling (lab research).
NFC Tools (mobile) — quick tag reads/writes for benign experiments.

Sub-GHz (315/433/868/915 MHz)

rtl_433 — decoders for hundreds of ISM devices (weather sensors, tire pressure, etc.).
Universal Radio Hacker (URH) — visualize, demodulate, and analyze unknown protocols.
GNU Radio / SDR++ / GQRX — general SDR toolchains.
RFQuack — modular framework for packet filtering/injection (research).

IR (Infrared)

LIRC (Linux Infrared Remote Control) — capture/learn/replay IR codes.
IRremote (Arduino) — encode/decode common IR protocols (NEC/RC5/RC6).

SDR Toolkit

GNU Radio — block-based DSP flows; core of many RF experiments.
GQRX / SDR++ / SDRAngel — spectrum browsing and demod.
Inspectrum — time/frequency domain inspection of recorded signals (I/Q files).
SoapySDR + libhackrf — driver layer and HackRF support libs.

Hardware Hacking & Firmware

OpenOCD — JTAG/SWD debugging for many MCUs.
flashrom — read/write SPI flash chips (with supported programmers).
binwalk / Firmware-Mod-Kit — firmware extraction/analysis.
Ghidra / radare2 / Cutter — reverse engineering.
Saleae Logic (hardware + app) / sigrok-pulseview — logic analysis, protocol decoding.
Bus Pirate, Black Magic Probe, JTAGulator — interface exploration and debugging.
PlatformIO / Arduino IDE / Zephyr RTOS — embedded development stacks.
ChipWhisperer — side-channel and fault injection platform (lab only).

Official Docs & Standards

Bluetooth SIG — Specifications, GATT, LE Security.
NFC Forum — NFC specs and tag type docs.
IEEE 802.11 — Wi-Fi standard (full text via IEEE; overview/errata available publicly).
Wi-Fi Alliance — technology overviews & certification info.
FCC OET — engineering & technical resources (US rules incl. Part 15).
ETSI (EU) — EN 300 328, EN 300 220, and related radio equipment standards.
Great Scott Gadgets — HackRF docs & examples.
Hak5 Docs — product manuals & guides.
Flipper Zero — official site with docs/community links.

Datasets, Captures & IQ Samples

Wireshark Sample Captures — curated PCAPs for many protocols (incl. 802.11).
SDR I/Q sample repositories — collections of recorded signals for practice (search GitHub “iq-recordings”, “sdr-samples”).
rtl_433 sample recordings — test files for decoder development and verification.
SatNOGS / open IQ — satellite I/Q datasets (advanced DSP practice).
Wigle — large community Wi-Fi mapping dataset (follow ToS; use responsibly and lawfully).

Note: Use datasets for analysis training and decoder validation; never use third-party data for targeting or unauthorized access.

Useful Hardware & Lab Gear

Antennas — 2.4/5/6 GHz Wi-Fi antennas; Sub-GHz quarter-wave whips; wideband SDR antennas. Keep SMA adapters handy.
RF Attenuators — inline 10–30 dB for close-range lab testing (avoid receiver overload, reduce leakage).
Filters — band-pass/notch filters for noisy bands; SAW filters for GSM/Wi-Fi.
Cables & Adapters — SMA/SMB/MMCX pigtails, U.FL-to-SMA if needed; high-quality coax reduces loss.
Test AP & Clients — spare Wi-Fi router/AP and dedicated clients for isolated lab experiments.
Logic Analyzer — Saleae or FX2-based; pair with PulseView for UART/SPI/I²C decoding.
Programmers — CH341A/SOIC clip for SPI flash; ST-Link/J-Link for SWD; Bus Pirate for quick serial busses.
Power & Safety — bench PSU with current limiting; ESD mat; USB data blockers; RF-tight containers for isolation.

Conferences, Villages & Events

DEF CON — RF Hackers Sanctuary (RF Village), Hardware Hacking Village, and IoT Village labs.
Chaos Communication Congress (CCC) — broad spectrum of RF/SDR/hardware talks.
BSides (local chapters) — frequent hardware/IoT RF talks and workshops.
Hamfests & Amateur Radio clubs — antenna building, propagation, and radio practice (consider licensing).
Black Hat Arsenal — live tool demos; watch for new RF/SDR/IoT tooling.

Blue-Team & Defenses

Wireless Monitoring — Kismet for rogue AP/client detection; Wi-Fi IDS/WIPS vendor guides.
Hardening Guides — WPA3/PMF configs; BLE pairing policies; RFID/NFC secure tag families and reader settings.
Asset Baselines — maintain inventories of known SSIDs, BLE devices, tags, and Sub-GHz sensors; alert on anomalies.
Incident Playbooks — deauth/evil twin detection responses; BLE HID spoofing alerts; SDR-based triage.

Ethics, Law & Disclosure

Scope & Permission — only test networks/devices you own or have explicit written permission to assess.
Regulatory — understand your local radio regulations (e.g., US FCC Part 15; EU ETSI). Keep RF power within legal limits.
Coordinated Disclosure — follow vendor or CERT/CC guidelines; minimize harm and avoid sharing exploit details publicly.
Documentation — log test windows, equipment, power levels, and exact lab environment to ensure repeatability and safety.

Reminder: This site is for education and authorized testing. Misuse can be illegal and unethical.

Contribute: Found a great resource? Open a PR or send it to the maintainer to add here.