Supercon 2024: Repurposing ESP32 Based Commercial Products
1 min read
Summary
YouTuber Jim Scarletta gave a talk at the 2024 Hackaday Superconference on how to repurpose commercial products that utilise the popular ESP32 microcontroller.
According to Scarletta, commercial products that use the ESP32 are an ideal target for repurposing as they have already been thoroughly tested for vulnerabilities.
ESP32 microcontrollers are popular among commercial product manufacturers because they are powerful, capable and relatively cheap, and have built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity and hardware-accelerated cryptography.
Reasons for repurposing a commercial product could include the desire to reconfigure a product to perform a different function, to restore functionality to a device no longer supported by the manufacturer, or to resolve known security vulnerabilities by patching or replacing the firmware.
For those looking to repurpose a commercial product, Scarletta advises starting with an ESP32 development board to learn the platform, researching the product’s specifications, creating a security plan and observing proper safety precautions when working with ESP32 devices that run on mains power.
