Hacking with Human Interface Devices: Teensy & USB Keystroke Injection
Nikhil Mittal demonstrates offensive penetration testing with Human Interface Devices (HID), executing covert PowerShell payloads via Teensy microcontrollers.
Summary
The Inherent Trust of USB Human Interface Devices
Operating systems blindly accept input from connected USB keyboards without administrative authentication or endpoint integrity checks.
Weaponizing Microcontrollers with Kautilya
Nikhil Mittal introduces the Kautilya framework, which generates automated keystroke injection payloads for Teensy microcontrollers.
Mittal demonstrates deploying multi-stage payloads, disabling Windows Defender, dumping password hashes, and establishing persistent reverse shells in seconds.
Defending Endpoints Against Malicious USB Devices
The author discusses enterprise countermeasures—including USB port control policies, group policy keystroke rate throttling, and physical lockout mechanisms.
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