Sniffing WiFi with an ESP8266 microcontroller
Summary
In this article, I made a quick tour of WiFi, with enough depth to understand where SSIDs come from and how to extract them. I also introduced the ESP8266 microcontroller, which is a very powerful device, both for hobbysts and professionals, at an extremely low price tag. The ESP8266 comes with, among many other functions, a sniffer mode that can be used for capturing and analyzing WiFi traffic without being connected to any BSS, a very useful feature for network management and analytics.
Although the example (collecting BSSIDs) is trivial, the ESP8266 has many other uses. Some ideas that I will leave as a challenge are to use the template program shown here to analyze the number of STAs visible at a certain point or to light the LED of the ESP8266 when a specific STA is seen. Just remember always to respect privacy laws! You cannot store or share MAC addresses from personal devices of non-consenting users because they are considered private data.
Infos
- ESP8266: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ESP8266
- ESP8266 technical reference: https://www.espressif.com/sites/default/files/documentation/esp8266-technical_reference_en.pdf
The Author
Dr. Emil J. Khatib is a researcher at the University of M·laga in the field of cellular networks and industrial IoT. He also loves programming hardware and web and mobile apps.
« Previous 1 2
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Thousands of Linux Servers Infected with Stealth Malware Since 2021
Perfctl is capable of remaining undetected, which makes it dangerous and hard to mitigate.
-
Halcyon Creates Anti-Ransomware Protection for Linux
As more Linux systems are targeted by ransomware, Halcyon is stepping up its protection.
-
Valve and Arch Linux Announce Collaboration
Valve and Arch have come together for two projects that will have a serious impact on the Linux distribution.
-
Hacker Successfully Runs Linux on a CPU from the Early ‘70s
From the office of "Look what I can do," Dmitry Grinberg was able to get Linux running on a processor that was created in 1971.
-
OSI and LPI Form Strategic Alliance
With a goal of strengthening Linux and open source communities, this new alliance aims to nurture the growth of more highly skilled professionals.
-
Fedora 41 Beta Available with Some Interesting Additions
If you're a Fedora fan, you'll be excited to hear the beta version of the latest release is now available for testing and includes plenty of updates.
-
AlmaLinux Unveils New Hardware Certification Process
The AlmaLinux Hardware Certification Program run by the Certification Special Interest Group (SIG) aims to ensure seamless compatibility between AlmaLinux and a wide range of hardware configurations.
-
Wind River Introduces eLxr Pro Linux Solution
eLxr Pro offers an end-to-end Linux solution backed by expert commercial support.
-
Juno Tab 3 Launches with Ubuntu 24.04
Anyone looking for a full-blown Linux tablet need look no further. Juno has released the Tab 3.
-
New KDE Slimbook Plasma Available for Preorder
Powered by an AMD Ryzen CPU, the latest KDE Slimbook laptop is powerful enough for local AI tasks.