home / skills / brownfinesecurity / iothackbot / iotnet

iotnet skill

/skills/iotnet

This skill analyzes IoT network traffic to detect protocols and vulnerabilities, helping you secure devices and identify unencrypted communications.

npx playbooks add skill brownfinesecurity/iothackbot --skill iotnet

Review the files below or copy the command above to add this skill to your agents.

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SKILL.md
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---
name: iotnet
description: IoT network traffic analyzer for detecting IoT protocols and identifying security vulnerabilities in network communications. Use when you need to analyze network traffic, identify IoT protocols, or assess network security of IoT devices.
---

# IoTNet - IoT Network Traffic Analyzer

You are helping the user analyze network traffic to detect IoT protocols and identify security vulnerabilities using the iotnet tool.

## Tool Overview

IoTNet analyzes network packet captures (PCAPs) or performs live traffic capture to:
- Detect IoT-specific protocols (MQTT, CoAP, Zigbee, etc.)
- Identify security vulnerabilities in network traffic
- Analyze protocol distribution
- Find unencrypted communications
- Detect weak authentication mechanisms
- Identify insecure IoT device behaviors

## Instructions

When the user asks to analyze network traffic, capture IoT traffic, or assess network security:

1. **Determine input type**:
   - PCAP file analysis (offline)
   - Live network capture (requires interface)

2. **Gather requirements**:
   - For PCAP: Get file path(s)
   - For live capture: Get network interface name and duration
   - Ask about filtering needs (specific IPs, protocols)
   - Check if custom detection rules are needed

3. **Execute the analysis**:
   - Use the iotnet command from the iothackbot bin directory

## Usage Modes

### PCAP Analysis (Offline)
Analyze one or more existing packet capture files:
```bash
iotnet capture1.pcap capture2.pcap
```

### Live Capture
Capture and analyze traffic in real-time:
```bash
sudo iotnet -i eth0 -d 30
```

## Parameters

**Input Options:**
- `pcap_files`: One or more PCAP files to analyze
- `-i, --interface`: Network interface for live capture

**Filtering Options:**
- `--ip`: Filter traffic by IP address
- `-c, --capture-filter`: BPF syntax filter for live capture
- `--display-filter`: Wireshark display filter for PCAP analysis

**Live Capture Options:**
- `-d, --duration`: Capture duration in seconds (default: 30)

**Analysis Options:**
- `--config`: Custom IoT detection rules configuration file
  - Default: `config/iot/detection_rules.json` in the iothackbot directory

**Output Options:**
- `--format text|json|quiet`: Output format (default: text)
- `-v, --verbose`: Detailed output

## Examples

Analyze a packet capture file:
```bash
iotnet /path/to/capture.pcap
```

Live capture for 60 seconds on wifi interface:
```bash
sudo iotnet -i wlan0 -d 60
```

Analyze traffic for specific IP:
```bash
iotnet capture.pcap --ip 192.168.1.100
```

Live capture with BPF filter:
```bash
sudo iotnet -i eth0 -c "port 1883 or port 5683" -d 45
```

Multiple PCAPs with custom config:
```bash
iotnet file1.pcap file2.pcap --config custom-rules.json
```

Filter by display filter (Wireshark syntax):
```bash
iotnet capture.pcap --display-filter "mqtt or coap"
```

## Detected IoT Protocols

The tool can identify:
- **MQTT**: Message Queue Telemetry Transport
- **CoAP**: Constrained Application Protocol
- **Zigbee**: Low-power mesh networking
- **Z-Wave**: Home automation protocol
- **ONVIF**: IP camera protocol
- **UPnP/SSDP**: Universal Plug and Play
- **Modbus**: Industrial control protocol
- And many more (configurable)

## Security Checks

IoTNet identifies vulnerabilities such as:
- Unencrypted MQTT traffic
- Missing TLS/encryption
- Weak or no authentication
- Plaintext credentials
- Insecure protocol versions
- Known vulnerable implementations

## Output Information

Results include:
- **Total packets analyzed**
- **Protocol distribution** with percentages
- **IoT findings** with protocol details and packet info
- **Vulnerabilities** with severity levels (high/medium/low)
- **Recommendations** for remediation

## Important Notes

- Live capture requires root/sudo privileges
- Requires network access to specified interface
- PCAP analysis does not require elevated privileges
- Detection rules can be customized in config file
- Supports standard PCAP format from tcpdump, Wireshark, etc.

Overview

This skill is an IoT network traffic analyzer that detects IoT protocols and identifies security vulnerabilities in network communications. It inspects packet captures or performs live captures to find unencrypted traffic, weak authentication, and insecure device behavior. Results include protocol distribution, detailed findings, severity levels, and remediation recommendations.

How this skill works

The tool accepts one or more PCAP files for offline analysis or performs live captures on a specified network interface and duration. It detects IoT-specific protocols (MQTT, CoAP, Zigbee, Z-Wave, ONVIF, UPnP/SSDP, Modbus, etc.), applies detection rules, and scans traffic for security issues like plaintext credentials, missing TLS, and insecure protocol versions. Output can be produced as text or JSON and includes packet counts, protocol breakdowns, vulnerability details, and suggested fixes.

When to use it

  • Assess security posture of IoT devices on your network
  • Analyze PCAPs from audits, honeypots, or incident response
  • Perform live captures to profile device behavior and protocols
  • Verify whether IoT traffic is encrypted and authenticated
  • Validate custom detection rules or IoT-specific filters

Best practices

  • Use PCAP analysis for forensic review and live capture for behavior profiling
  • Run live captures with elevated privileges and define a short focused duration to limit data volume
  • Supply BPF or display filters to target specific protocols or IPs and reduce noise
  • Provide custom detection rules when analyzing proprietary or uncommon protocols
  • Export JSON output for integration with dashboards or automated reporting

Example use cases

  • Analyze a saved capture: iotnet /path/to/capture.pcap to detect MQTT/CoAP leaks
  • Live capture on Wi-Fi for device discovery: sudo iotnet -i wlan0 -d 60
  • Filter traffic to a device IP: iotnet capture.pcap --ip 192.168.1.100 to check plaintext credentials
  • Use BPF to focus on IoT ports: sudo iotnet -i eth0 -c "port 1883 or port 5683" -d 45
  • Combine multiple PCAPs and a custom rule set: iotnet f1.pcap f2.pcap --config custom-rules.json

FAQ

Do I need root to run live captures?

Yes. Live capture requires root or sudo privileges to access the network interface.

Can I analyze multiple PCAPs at once?

Yes. Provide multiple PCAP file paths and the tool will aggregate protocol detection and vulnerability findings.