Max Class Size: 90

Abstract:

BLE CTF is a series of Bluetooth Low Energy challenges in a capture-the-flag format. It was created to teach the fundamentals of interacting with and hacking Bluetooth Low Energy services. Each exercise, or flag, aims to interactively introduce a new concept to the user.

Over the past few years, BLE CTF has expanded to support multiple platforms and skill levels. Various books, workshops, training, and conferences have utilized it as an educational platform and CTF. As an open source, low-cost of entry, and expandable education solution, BLE CTF has helped progress Bluetooth security research.

This workshop will teach the fundamentals of interacting with and hacking Bluetooth Low Energy services. Each exercise, or flag, aims to interactively introduce a new concept to the user. For this workshop, we will undergo a series of exercises to teach beginner students new concepts and allow more seasoned users to try new tools and techniques. After completing this workshop, you should have a good solid understanding of how to interact with and hack on BLE devices in the wild.

If you have done BLE CTF in the past, this class is still valuable. For advanced users, we offer BLE CTF Infinity, a sequel to BLE CTF. The workshop will also showcase new hardware platforms and client tools for interacting with and completing the exercises.

To prepare for the workshop, please follow the setup documentation located at https://github.com/hackgnar/ble_ctf/blob/master/docs/workshop_setup.md

Skill Level: Beginner to Intermediate

Prerequisites for students: To prepare for the workshop, please follow the setup documentation located at https://github.com/hackgnar/ble_ctf/blob/master/docs/workshop_setup.md

Materials or Equipment students will need to bring to participate:Preferably a Linux box with a Bluetooth controller or a Bluetooth USB dongle. An OSX or Windows machine with a Linux VM and USB passthough works as well but should be setup and tested before the workshop.

Bio:

Ryan Holeman resides in Austin, Texas, where he works as the CISO for the peer-to-peer payment platform Strike. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in cyber defense from Dakota State University. He has spoken at respected venues such as Black Hat, DEF CON, Lockdown, BSides, Ruxcon, Notacon, and Shmoocon. You can keep up with his current activity, open source contributions, and general news on his blog. His spare time is mostly spent digging into various network protocols, random hacking, creating art, and shredding local skateparks.

Ryan Holeman - Learning to Hack Bluetooth Low Energy with BLE CTF