Choosing between a Raspberry Pi vs BeagleBone Black is a classic dilemma for embedded developers and IoT enthusiasts. This in-depth comparison breaks down their hardware, software ecosystems, real-time capabilities, and ideal use cases to help you select the right single-board computer (SBC) for your next project. Table of Contents Introduction: Raspberry Pi vs BeagleBone Black […]

In Lab 3 you captured MQTT credentials in Wireshark in under 30 seconds. In this lab you implement the correct alternative: MQTT over TLS with root CA certificate verification using Node.js. You will see what Wireshark shows when encryption is active (the TLS handshake followed by unreadable application data), verify that the client refuses to […]

Static analysis finds vulnerabilities before deployment. TLS (Lab 6) protects data in transit. Flash encryption (Lab 5) protects firmware at rest. But none of these controls tell you when an attacker is actively probing your device. Security event logging bridges that gap: it records every significant security event on the device, detects patterns that indicate […]

Choosing between a Raspberry Pi vs BeagleBone Black is a classic dilemma for embedded developers and IoT enthusiasts. This in-depth comparison breaks down their hardware, software ecosystems, real-time capabilities, and ideal use cases to help you select the right single-board computer (SBC) for your next project. Table of Contents Introduction: Raspberry Pi vs BeagleBone Black […]

Raspberry Pi vs Arduino is one of the most common dilemmas facing makers, students and professional developers entering the world of embedded systems and IoT. Both platforms are foundational in electronics and prototyping, yet they serve fundamentally different purposes. Understanding their strengths, limitations and ideal use cases can save you time, money and frustration. This […]

When building real-time IoT applications, choosing the right communication protocol is critical. WebSockets vs MQTT over HTTP is a common dilemma faced by developers weighing performance, scalability, and ease of implementation. Both approaches enable bidirectional communication but differ significantly in architecture, overhead, and suitability for constrained environments. Table of Contents Protocol Overview WebSockets vs MQTT […]

Embedded systems security is one of the fastest-growing disciplines in both IoT and industrial engineering, yet it remains poorly understood by many of the engineers who build these devices. This article covers what embedded systems are, why they are uniquely difficult to secure, where real attacks have caused measurable damage and what threat categories you […]

Every interface, protocol and memory region in an embedded system is a potential entry point for an attacker. Understanding the embedded system attack surface starts with understanding the architecture itself: how hardware layers, firmware, memory types, debug interfaces and communication protocols connect and where each one introduces exploitable exposure. This article works through all of […]

The most common embedded system vulnerabilities are not exotic zero-days. They are repeating patterns: buffer overflows from unsafe C functions, credentials compiled directly into firmware, debug ports left open on shipped hardware, third-party libraries nobody maintains any more. This article works through every major vulnerability category in the embedded threat landscape, from firmware-level coding flaws […]

Introduction The ESP32 DOIT DevKit v1 is one of the most popular development boards for IoT and embedded systems projects. It’s a powerful microcontroller that comes with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth built-in, making it perfect for smart devices, automation, and sensor-based applications. In this tutorial, we’ll set up the ESP32 for programming using the Arduino IDE, […]

Introduction The LED blink program is often called the “Hello World” of embedded systems. It’s the simplest way to test if your ESP32 is working properly and if you can control an output device. In this tutorial, we will blink an external LED connected to GPIO 12 of the ESP32 DOIT DevKit v1. This will […]

Introduction An RGB LED is a special LED that can emit Red, Green, and Blue light. By combining these three colors in different intensities, we can create almost any color. There are two types of RGB LEDs: In this tutorial, we’ll control a Common Anode RGB LED using the ESP32 DOIT DevKit v1. Components Required […]

Introduction The ESP8266 is one of the most popular Wi-Fi microcontrollers used in IoT (Internet of Things) and embedded systems. It’s low-cost, powerful, and easy to program, making it perfect for beginners who want to build smart devices such as Wi-Fi switches, temperature monitors, and home automation systems. In this tutorial, you’ll learn what ESP8266 […]

Introduction The Blink LED program is the first step for anyone learning micro controllers. With the ESP8266 Wi-Fi micro controller, it’s even more exciting because you can later control LEDs through Wi-Fi and IoT platforms. In this tutorial, we’ll blink an external LED using ESP8266 and Arduino IDE as in the previous tutorial we explained […]

Introduction The LDR (Light Dependent Resistor) is a simple but powerful sensor that detects light intensity. Its resistance decreases when light falls on it, and increases in darkness. By connecting an LDR with an ESP8266 Wi-Fi microcontroller, you can build smart IoT projects like: In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to connect an LDR with […]