CODEGRIP on WIFI

[jumper]

Hi,

Is the hexfile stored internally in the CODEGRIP or is it received via WIFI each time it should program a PIC?

How secure is the transfer protocol for the WIFI connection, is the hexfile sent in plain text or is there any secure protocol that ensures that the hexfile can not be extracted from the WIFI traffic with for example Wireshark?

Is it possible to lock the codegrip to a specific WIFI net and MAC ADDRESS so I can give the CODEGRIP and a 4G wireless router to an OEM factory and they can not switch over the CODEGRIP to any other net?

Why do I ask? Because we need to put a programming station at an OEM factory and if CODEGRIP has a secure way to handle the hexfile then we can setup a desktop linux PC in our own office that the OEM factory can access via remote desktop and this way the OEM factory would not have physical access to the hexfiles but still be able to program the units at their place.

Yes it is a low volume product so flashing manually is the preferred option. Today we use pickit2 and the stand alone application inhouse but moving the flashing to OEM would require a better level of security.

I know it is still possible to connect a logic analyzer or something similar to record the programming sequence if you connect to the physical product to collect the hex file but that is way more work than just copy the files from a PC. Also having the hexfiles on our PC will make it easier to manage software revisions without access to the OEM network or the PC at their place.

Preprogram the PIC is also not an option since we need to first have software for product testing and then later flash the customer SW that might be unique for some customers.

I did not find any information how this is actually done and I have not yet bought a CODEGRIP so I can not test it either.

Thank you for reading.

[filip]

Hi,

Is the hexfile stored internally in the CODEGRIP or is it received via WIFI each time it should program a PIC?

HEX file is fetched over WiFi upon each programming sequence, it is not stored in the CODEGRIP device.

How secure is the transfer protocol for the WIFI connection, is the hexfile sent in plain text or is there any secure protocol that ensures that the hexfile can not be extracted from the WIFI traffic with for example Wireshark?

For security reasons we have implemented SSL license which can be acquired from here :
https://www.mikroe.com/codegrip-ssl-license

Without the SSL license HEX file could be extracted/reconstructed via WireShark or similar sniffing tools.

Is it possible to lock the codegrip to a specific WIFI net and MAC ADDRESS so I can give the CODEGRIP and a 4G wireless router to an OEM factory and they can not switch over the CODEGRIP to any other net?

In general, you enter SSID and password for the router in CODEGRIP Suite application (you will be the only one who would know this). Also you can set Config Link password, so only the one who has it can wirelessly change the CODEGRIP configuration.

On the other hand, if the CODEGRIP is accessed via USB cable there is no protection and the user may change the configuration without the password.

Regards,
Filip.