Glossary

Hardware hacking and CTF terms, explained in plain language.

Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)

Bluetooth Low Energy is the low-power flavour of Bluetooth, used by connected devices and beacons that broadcast short messages.

CTF (Capture The Flag)

A CTF is a cybersecurity competition where you solve challenges to find a "flag", a text string that proves you succeeded.

NFC

NFC is a 13.56 MHz contactless technology for exchanging data over a few centimetres: payments, access badges, transit cards.

RFID

RFID identifies objects by radio without contact: access badges in low frequency (125 kHz) or high frequency (13.56 MHz).

SDR (software-defined radio)

A software-defined radio (SDR) hands signal processing to a computer, so a simple USB receiver can listen across a wide range of frequencies.

UART

UART is a simple serial link, often left on circuit boards for debugging, that sometimes gives access to a console.