Parducky: A Go based hardware keylogger for Raspberry Pis

Parducky is a hardware-based keylogger, written in Go, that leverages a Raspberry Pi utilizing USB OTG to act as an intermediary between a USB keyboard and a host system. Parducky was developed to overcome the limitations of existing Python libraries, allowing it to efficiently read input from a connected keyboard, log the keystrokes, and send the keystrokes to the connected host computer. Unlike the popular Python libraries Pynput and Keyboard, Parducky can be run without escalated privileges, over a remote session, and can handle quick successive key-presses thanks to Go’s quick compiled nature. Developing Parducky required a deep understanding of the protocols used in keyboard communication, elements within the Linux Kernel, and how to best utilize Go to ensure robustness and efficiency.\n\nThis talk will provide the audience with an understanding of HID communication, how to leverage it in Go, and the intricacies of keyboard-host interactions. Attendees will gain the ability to quickly write their own Go applications to both receive input directly from a keyboard and write output as a keyboard, while working on a Raspberry Pi utilizing USB OTG.