Embedded Systems & Firmware
Embedded systems, firmware, bootloaders, memory-mapped I/O, and embedded security.
Recommended Prerequisites
These are recommendations - you can start this track at any time.
About this track
Embedded systems, firmware, bootloaders, memory-mapped I/O, and embedded security.
The Embedded Systems & Firmware track collects 5 modules and 20 lessons into a single ordered path. Each module ends with a checkpoint quiz; passing the checkpoint unlocks the next module so you can track your progress without guessing whether the material has stuck.
You start with "Embedded Systems & Firmware" and finish on "IoT & Embedded Security". The whole track sits inside the Systems Deep Dives area of the curriculum, so the writing assumes the prerequisites listed above and skips ground that an earlier track has already covered.
What this track covers
- Embedded Systems & Firmware — Computers hide inside everything from kettles to pacemakers. Learn how embedded processors work, what firmware is, and why embedded security matters.
- Microcontroller Programming — From choosing an MCU to bare-metal programming - startup code, linker scripts, peripherals, interrupts, and real-time constraints.
- Firmware Reverse Engineering — Acquiring firmware images, analysing them with binwalk, emulating firmware with QEMU, and finding vulnerabilities in embedded software.
- Hardware Hacking — UART and JTAG interface discovery, fault injection, debug interface exploitation, and PCB analysis for hardware security research.
- IoT & Embedded Security — Mapping IoT attack surfaces, wireless protocol security, secure boot and firmware updates, and building secure embedded systems.
How the track works
Every lesson is a short page with diagrams, runnable examples, and the kind of edge-case footnotes you usually only find in textbooks. Where it makes sense, the lesson is paired with a CPU simulation or a coding challenge so you can poke at the idea instead of just reading about it.
The lessons themselves are free to read with a free account. The 5 checkpoint quizzes that gate the next module are also free, as are the lesson IDE and CPU simulations. Optional 777-tier tools — the step-through debugger, decompiler, ROP gadget builder, heap visualiser, and exploit labs — sit alongside the lessons but are not required to follow the track from start to finish.
You can jump in at any point. Be Bitwise is built around a free forever curriculum, with no time limits and no expiring access. Pick the next lesson when you have an hour; come back when you do not.