security News - Page 2 of 38 - CNX Software

February 16, 2024 by Tomisin Olujinmi - 30 Comments

The M1 device is a Flipper Zero alternative with a faster STM32H5 microcontroller and Wi-Fi connectivity (Crowdfunding)

The M1 is a multitool device that bundles several hacking and penetration tools in a package that looks like a retro-gaming console and could be viewed as a Flipper Zero alternative with a more powerful STMicro STM32H5 Cortex-M33 high-performance MCU featuring Arm TrustZone hardware-based security for additional protection for sensitive data. The M1 multitool device features transceivers for infrared, sub-1 GHz, Bluetooth, NFC, RFID, and Wi-Fi. This means that the M1 can replace most of your remotes as well as your RFID and NFC-based items (membership cards, access fobs, business cards, credit cards, etc.) It also has twelve 3.3V (5V tolerant) GPIO pins that can be used to add extra functionality to the device. M1 specifications: MCU – STM32H5-series microcontroller, with a 32-bit ARM Cortex-M33 core, 1MB RAM Storage – MicroSD card slot Display – 1.54-inch display, 128 x 64 resolution Connectivity Bluetooth 4.2 BR/EDR BLE Sensitivity -96dBm Infrared – […]

February 15, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Luxonis OAK Thermal – A PoE thermal camera with Myriad X AI accelerator, waterproof M12 and M8 connectors

Luxonis has announced its first thermal camera with the OAK Thermal (OAK-T) based on the company’s OAK-SoM Pro AI module featuring an Intel Movidius Myriad X, and two waterproof ports with an M12 PoE/Ethernet connector and an M8 auxiliary connector. Luxonis has been making AI cameras based on Myriad X AI accelerator and its Depth AI solution at least since 2019, and its module is also found in third-party cameras as we’ve recently found out with the Arducam PiNSIGHT AI camera. But they had never made a thermal model, and following customers’ requests to fuse thermal and RGB data, they’ve now developed the OAK Thermal, or OAK-T for shorts, that is suitable for detecting leaks and fires or more accurately detect humans & animals than traditional vision-only based cameras. OAK Thermal camera specifications: System-on-Module – Luxonis OAK-SoM Pro with AI accelerator – Intel Movidius Myriad X AI vision processing unit […]

February 14, 2024February 14, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Flipper Zero gets a Raspberry Pi RP2040-powered video game module

Flipper Zero hardware & wireless hacking tool can now be used as a proper game console thanks to a Raspberry Pi RP2040-powered video game module that mirrors the display of the device on a larger monitor or TV via DVI/HDMI video output, and also adds a 6-axis motion tracking sensor. The Flipper Zero has been in the news in recent days, notably with Canada’s government banning the device due to car theft (although it only seems feasible on older cars), and today the company has announced the launch of a video game module developed in collaboration with Raspberry Pi Ltd. Video game module specifications: MCU – Raspberry Pi RP2040 dual-core Arm Cortex-M0+ microcontroller clocked up to 133 MHz with 264 kB SRAM Video Output – DVI-D at 640х480 with 60 Hz refresh rate. It also supports HDMI. USB – USB Type-C port connected to the microcontroller. Acts as a USB device […]

February 10, 2024 by Tomisin Olujinmi - No Comments

Ovrdrive USB is an open-source, privacy-oriented USB flash drive that can self-destruct (Crowdfunding)

We have previously covered the Tillitis Tkey, an open-source security key in a USB-C case but the Ovrdrive USB stick is not a security key. It is a simple, plain USB flash drive with a special security feature. It will appear completely blank unless you plug this drive in three times in quick succession. The Ovrdrive flash drive is aimed at journalists in repressive areas and security researchers but may be useful to other security and open-source hardware enthusiasts. As for how it works, the Ovrdrive has two identical circuits connected to the ATtiny24A microcontroller that controls the rapid plug-in functionality. When the flash is plugged in, the microcontroller powers on, and the CHG1 node goes high, charging C3 through D2. The pin will remain high for a while and then slowly discharge via R1 and body resistance. C3 and the identical C14 will remain high through power cycling/a quick […]

February 8, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments

Arduino IDE 2.3 released with the Debug feature now considered stable

Arduino IDE 2.3 has just been released with a range of bug fixes and improvements, but the main change is that the debug feature is not experimental anymore and is now considered stable. Bug fixes include addressing CVE-2023-4863 security flaw (See GitHub for related commits) and based on the wording used in the announcement it looks to be the only one… So the main news is that the Debug feature is now fully incorporated into the IDE. But what is it exactly? The new documentation website explains that Arduino CLI 0.9.0 and Arduino IDE 2.x support “sketch debugging” with openocd server. Arduino also explains it’s currently supported by Arduino boards based on the Mbed core including GIGA R1 WiFi, Portenta H7, Opta, Nano BLE, and Nano RP2040 Connect, and Renesas-based boards such as UNO R4 and Portenta C33 will get support very soon. The company also says they are working […]

February 8, 2024February 7, 2024 by Debashis Das - 6 Comments

Microchip introduces PIC16F13145 Series MCUs with customizable logic

Microchip New MCU with Configurable Logic Block

Microchip recently introduced the PIC16F13145 series of 8-bit MCUs featuring a Configurable Logic Block (CLB). This allows users to create custom hardware-based logic functions within the MCU. This approach lowers the BOM costs and boosts performance. Last year, we saw Microchip introduce PIC32CZ Arm MCU with a Hardware Security Module (HSM) and before that, we saw they launched LAN8650/LAN8651 10BASE-T1S single-pair Ethernet Controllers. Feel free to check those out if you are interested in the topics. Microchip PIC16F13145 Series MCU Specification: 32MHz PIC16 CPU core Up to 1KB User SRAM for application data Up to 14KB Flash memory with code protection features CLB Capabilities: Up to 32 basic logic elements – AND/OR/NAND/NOR gates, buffers/inverting buffers, D/JK flip-flops, multiplexers, 4-input LUT Dynamic configuration for on-the-fly changes Tri-state logic capability Inputs/outputs from software, I/O pins, and PIC® peripherals (ADC, PWM, DAC, etc.) Less than 6 ns BLE propagation delay at 5.5V (typical) […]

February 1, 2024January 31, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Renesas RA8T1 Cortex-M85 MCU targets motor control applications

It took a while before Renesas released its first Arm Cortex-M85 microcontroller (RA8M1) in October 2023, but the company has now launched the RA8T1 Cortex-M85 MCU for motor control just a few weeks after announcing the RA8D1 for HMI applications. The RA8T1 group is the third Cortex-M85 microcontroller family from Renesas with a feature set optimized for motor control and leveraging machine learning through Arm Helium technology and a DSP for predictive maintenance requirements for motors. Renesas RA8T1 key features and specifications: MCU core – Arm Cortex-M85 clocked at 480 MHz with Helium MVE (M-Profile Vector Extension) with 32KB I/D caches, 12KB data flash Memory & Storage 1MB SRAM including 128KB TCM 1MB to 2MB Flash memory 2x SD/MMC host interfaces (SDHI) Communication interfaces Ethernet MAC with DMA USB – 1x USB 2.0 Full Speed interface 2x CAN-FD Up to 6x SCI (UART, Simple SPI, Simple I2C) 2x SPI up […]

January 26, 2024January 25, 2024 by Debashis Das - No Comments

Quectel FGH100M Wi-Fi HaLow module based on Morse Micro MM6108 receives CE and FCC Certifications

Quectel and Morse Micro's FGH100M Wi Fi HaLow Module

In a collaboration, Quectel Wireless Solutions and Morse Micro have developed the FGH100M a Wi-Fi HaLow module, powered by Morse Micro’s MM6108 SoC. This module has achieved CE certification in Europe and FCC approval in the US, meeting high safety and environmental standards. After reading through the press release, I initially thought the 802.11.ah WiFi, known as WiFi HaLow, would be similar to other LPWAN standards like LoRaWAN or Sigfox. However, further research showed that Wi-Fi HaLow, operating in the 900 MHz band, was first announced in 2014 and got its name in 2016. However, in the following years, there wasn’t much interest in this wireless standard. But starting from 2021, it’s becoming more popular, and we’ve seen many HaLow-based products like a mini PCIe card, a WiFi HaLow development board, and a gateway kit to extend the range of IP cameras, and also ALFA Network’s AHPI7292S Raspberry Pi HAT […]