ChipWhisperer

What it is

ChipWhisperer is an open-source toolchain for hardware security research from NewAE Technology. It combines a capture board, target boards, firmware, and Python software, and the schematics and PCB layouts for the ChipWhisperer-Husky capture board and several targets are freely available. Files without their own license fall under Apache-2.0.

What it helps with

- Capturing power traces from target devices with ChipWhisperer Capture, a Python API for the hardware
- Processing traces and running CPA attacks with ChipWhisperer Analyzer
- Studying glitching (fault injection) attacks on embedded targets
- Learning through Jupyter labs and the SCA101 online course

Who it's for

Embedded engineers, hardware security researchers, and students studying side-channel and fault injection attacks.

Worth knowing

For authorized use only: attack only devices you own or are allowed to test. ChipWhisperer 7.0 reworked the project and analyzer APIs, and the last commit with the previous API is tagged v6.1.0. Some files in the repository carry their own licenses, so check specific components if licensing matters.

Is ChipWhisperer free?
The software, firmware, and many hardware designs are free and open source, while ready-made capture and target boards are sold by NewAE.

Do I need special hardware?
Yes, practical attacks use a capture board and a target board, which you can buy or build from the published designs.

How does it relate to EMBA and HackRF One?
In our view they cover different layers: EMBA analyzes firmware images, HackRF One works with radio signals, and ChipWhisperer attacks the chip itself through power and glitches.