Hackers can rejoice and get ready to step up their mobile hacking skills. The folks at Wired report that security tools company Pwnie Express built a tablet, based on the Google Nexus 7 specs, that has a fully functioning hacking tool kit working over the Android operating system.
This isn’t the first time hacking tools have made their way onto Android devices, but Pwnie Express found a way to add some great new features, like getting tools such as Aircrack-ng and Kismet to work wirelessly.
Pwnie Express was able to get beyond the problem that Linux has working on wireless networks — the system doesn’t support the features that the hacking tools need to function — by plugging in a TP-Link wireless adaptor to the tablet, giving it 10 times the range.
The reason the company created this is not to actually hack systems, though it’s almost certain that some people will want to use it that way. Instead, it hopes to be a great new way for people to quickly and easily test out the security of their websites and find any flaws. While the same can be done with a laptop or desktop, the portability is the biggest benefit to using a tablet.
The tablets, named the Pwn Pad, are going to be introduced to the public at next week’s RSA security conference in San Francisco, and will retail for $800. Pwnie Express is also going to release the source code, allowing for hackers to install it onto other Android devices than the Pwn Pad.
Don’t expect to see the company do the same thing to the iPad. Apple isn’t a fan of people messing around with its devices, and it has already denied the company a bulk order they requested for this purpose.
