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Hak5 — Offensive Security Hardware, Explained

一句話定位:Hak5 是全世界最知名的「攻擊型」安全硬體品牌 — 從替別人收發鍵盤敲擊的 USB Rubber Ducky,到假裝成咖啡店 Wi-Fi 的 WiFi Pineapple。本節用大學課程等級的詳細度,帶你一步一步認識每一台裝置、怎麼設定、怎麼寫 Payload、出了問題怎麼修。

Hak5 started in 2005 as a podcast about hacking and technology, and grew into the company that practically defined the "plug-and-pwn" category of security hardware. Their philosophy is simple: computers trust USB and Ethernet devices implicitly — so those trust boundaries are exactly where you test them. If you are studying cybersecurity, doing CTFs, or preparing for a red-team career, these are the tools you will see in every lab, every conference talk, and every job posting.

This section of the wiki is your complete study guide: every product we carry, with official specifications, beginner-friendly quickstarts, DuckyScript examples, and a troubleshooting index — all written so that a first-year student can follow along, and detailed enough that a working pentester will still find something new.

⚠️ Legal note — read this once. Everything in this section is for authorized security testing only: your own lab, your own devices, or a network you have written permission to test. Laws about unauthorized access exist in every country (in Taiwan, see 刑法第 358–363 條 and 個資法). Hacking without permission is a crime — with these tools it is also trivially detectable by the defensive tools we cover on this very page. Play in your sandbox.


How this wiki is organised

PageWhat you'll find
QuickstartFirst 15 minutes with any Hak5 device — arming modes, first payload, first scan
Firmware & DownloadsOfficial firmware, PayloadStudio, and every payload repository in one table
FAQ"Which device do I need?" and the questions every beginner asks
TroubleshootingLED colour meanings, SSH connection failures, payloads that won't run
Products (below)Deep dives on all 17 devices

The Hak5 ecosystem at a glance

Hak5 devices all share three design ideas. Once you learn one, you learn them all:

  1. Payloads over configs — you don't "program" the hardware; you drop a script file onto it.
  2. Arming mode — a switch, button, or keystroke turns the device into a normal flash drive / web UI so you can load payloads safely.
  3. Loot folders — captured data (keystrokes, scans, screenshots) lands in a loot directory you can grab later.

The product catalogue

Wi-Fi audit platforms (rogue access points)

DeviceOne-linerDifficultyPage
WiFi Pineapple Mark VIIThe classic dual-band rogue AP with the PineAP suite — the tool that made "evil twin" a household wordBeginnerFull guide
WiFi Pineapple EnterpriseA 1U rack monster with 5 dual-band radios for heavy-duty, multi-target airspace auditsAdvancedFull guide
WiFi Pineapple PagerThe 20th-anniversary flagship: tri-band (2.4/5/6 GHz), a 2.4" screen, and DuckyScript payloads — fully standalone, no laptop neededIntermediateFull guide

Keystroke injection & keyloggers

DeviceOne-linerDifficultyPage
USB Rubber DuckyThe king of keystroke injection: a USB stick that types at 1,000 WPMBeginnerFull guide
Bash Bunny Mark IIA multi-vector USB attack platform: keyboard + Ethernet + serial + storage, all at once, with a quad-core brainIntermediateFull guide
Key CrocA hardware keylogger disguised as a keyboard adapter that also attacks when you type keywordsIntermediateFull guide

Network access & manipulation

DeviceOne-linerDifficultyPage
Shark JackA pocket-sized network recon box: plug into any Ethernet jack, get a scan in secondsBeginnerFull guide
Shark Jack CableThe same box, powered by USB-C with a serial console — runs as long as power flowsBeginnerFull guide
Packet Squirrel Mark IIAn inline Ethernet man-in-the-middle: sniff, proxy, redirect DNS, or jail devices — at the flip of a switchIntermediateFull guide
Plunder Bug LAN TapA passive/active Ethernet tap with USB-C — Wireshark in your pocketBeginnerFull guide

Covert implants (O.MG family)

DeviceOne-linerDifficultyPage
O.MG CableA malicious USB cable with a hidden WiFi implant — the $20,000 nation-state attack, now on your deskAdvancedFull guide
O.MG PlugThe same implant in a keychain USB plugAdvancedFull guide
O.MG AdapterThe implant in a USB-A-to-C adapter — plug it into phones and tablets tooAdvancedFull guide
O.MG UnBlockerThe implant hidden inside a "safe" USB data blocker — the defender's tool, weaponisedAdvancedFull guide
O.MG ProgrammerThe universal programmer that activates and updates every O.MG deviceIntermediateFull guide

Video & defense

DeviceOne-linerDifficultyPage
Screen CrabA covert HDMI man-in-the-middle that silently screenshots or records any displayIntermediateFull guide
Malicious Cable DetectorThe only consumer tool that detects all known malicious USB cables — including O.MG's ownBeginnerFull guide

Where should you start?

New to all of this? Here is a suggested learning path:

  1. Read the Quickstart — it explains arming mode, payloads, and loot, the three concepts everything else builds on.
  2. Start with a USB Rubber Ducky — it is the cheapest, safest, and most instructive way to see a payload execute. You only need your own computer and Notepad.
  3. Set up a lab — a spare router, an old laptop, or a virtual machine you own. The ALFA Network section explains how to pair a USB Wi-Fi adapter with Kali Linux for monitor mode, which the WiFi Pineapple also loves.
  4. Level up to a WiFi Pineapple Mark VII — evil-twin attacks are the single most "wow" demo in wireless security, and the Pineapple guide walks through it step by step.
  5. When something breaks — hit the Troubleshooting index first; 80% of beginner problems are the same four causes.

You might be asking: "Do I need to buy all of this to learn?" No. The concepts — HID injection, rogue APs, network taps — transfer directly to free tools you already have: a $2 Arduino can type keystrokes, hostapd can fake an AP, tcpdump can sniff. Hak5 hardware just packages them into something reliable enough for professional engagements. Start with one device and your own lab.