The first stable release of the project , developing a tool for hacking wireless networks, designed as an electronic pet reminiscent of a Tamagotchi toy. The main prototype of the device is built on a Raspberry Pi Zero W board (provided for booting from an SD card), but it can also be used on other Raspberry Pi boards or any Linux environment with a wireless adapter that supports monitoring mode. Control is performed via an attached LCD screen or through . The project code is written in Python and under the GPLv3 license.
To keep the pet in good spirits, it needs to be fed with network packets sent by participants of wireless networks during the handshake phase of a new connection. The device finds available wireless networks and attempts to intercept handshake sequences. Since the handshake is sent only when a client connects to the network, the device uses various techniques to drop current connections and force users to reconnect to the network. Throughout the interception, a database of packets accumulates, containing hashes that can be used for WPA key cracking.
The project is notable for using methods of AAC (Actor Advantage Critic) and a neural network based on (LSTM), which have become popular in creating bots for playing video games. The training of the learning model is carried out while the device operates, taking past experiences into account to choose the optimal strategy for attacking wireless networks. Using machine learning, Pwnagotchi dynamically adjusts the parameters for traffic interception and selects the intensity of forced user session drops. A manual mode is also supported, where the attack is carried out 'head-on'.
To intercept the types of traffic necessary for WPA key cracking, the package is used. Interception occurs both in passive mode and through known types of attacks that force clients to resend identifiers . The intercepted packets cover all forms of handshake supported in , stored in PCAP files calculated, one file for each wireless network.
Similar to Tamagotchi, it supports the identification of nearby devices, and optionally, participation in creating a shared coverage map. The connection of Pwnagotchi devices via WiFi uses the protocol . Nearby devices exchange data about wireless networks and organize joint operations by sharing channels for conducting attacks.
The functionality of Pwnagotchi can be expanded through , which implement features such as automatic software update system, backup creation, linking captured handshakes to GPS coordinates, publishing data about cracked networks on services like onlinehashcrack.com, wpa-sec.stanev.org, wigle.net and , additional indicators (memory consumption, temperature, etc.) and performing dictionary attacks for intercepted handshakes.
Source: opennet.ru
