A small stealthy system lies within the hand, like one thing out of a dusty sci-fi prop field, with a compact display, a grid of keys, and an antenna protruding from the highest. That is The Blackhat, an open-source handheld pc created by Ryan Walker of Rootkit Labs. What started as a convention badge for the WHY2025 occasion has developed into one thing way more succesful: a conveyable Linux system appropriate for on-the-go work, safety testing, experimentation, and easily taking part in round.
Walker began with the unique WHY2025 badge, which already had some nice elements inside: a pleasant show, a good mechanical keyboard from Solder Occasion, and sufficient vitality to deal with the fundamentals. Then he eliminated the unique ESP32-P4 module and changed it along with his personal distinctive configuration. The core now runs on an Allwinner A33 quad-core CPU working between 1.5 and 1.8 GHz, with 512 MB of RAM. This SoC powers the whole system, eliminating the necessity for standard single-board computer systems such because the Raspberry Pi. The result’s only a extra intentional and self-contained entity.
A 480×480 LCD display supplies good views and is vibrant sufficient for use exterior whereas being sharp sufficient for text-heavy actions. The keyboard is beneath it, organized in a grid that encourages you to touch-type even whenever you’re cramped for area. The keys click on with wonderful really feel, and the format consists of separate navigation and shortcut buttons. Then there are the ports, which offer much more flexibility: two USB-A connectors for peripherals, certainly one of which is often routed by a hub, permitting you to attach the keyboard and some different gadgets at concurrently. So you possibly can join a mouse, a software-defined radio, and extra storage, and it’ll nonetheless settle for as much as three USB gadgets directly. The built-in Wi-Fi retains it linked, however the antenna supplies a bit extra vary when you must be on-line for sure community chores.
The ability comes from a compact battery, which is regulated by the identical charging electronics that Walker used within the unique badge design. The entire system is small, pocket-sized, and weighs lower than a telephone, nevertheless it has all the ability of a desktop-class Linux PC. Walker runs Kali Linux on it natively, however he’s switching to Armbian for simpler bundle administration and full entry to Kali instruments through apt. He’s already had a number of of the instruments up and working, together with aircrack-ng, RouterSploit, nmap, and a few customized Wi-Fi auditing scripts that every one function effectively. You may compile code in Python, Go, Rust, or C++, edit it in Vim, browse the online in Firefox or Chrome, and even play Doom to check how far the visuals could be pushed.
One of the vital notable options is its modularity, because the design is predicated on Walker’s earlier Flipper Blackhat, an open-source Wi-Fi add-on for the Flipper Zero. The Blackpants function a service board, and the Blackhat module simply slots in through headers, so that you don’t need to put it to use. The entire assets can be found on GitHub underneath an MIT license, together with the schematics, PCB layouts, case designs, and firmware, so you possibly can assemble it your self or buy a package from Walker’s website. The nicest function is that there aren’t any proprietary elements that can lock you out; all the things is documented and customizable.
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