When Hak5 opened pre-orders at DEF CON 33 last year, the Pager was mostly a promise. Units have since reached users, so it is worth looking at what it does and what that means if your job is to defend a network.
The hardware
According to published specifications, the Pager is a Linux device of 87 × 62 × 24 mm with a 2.4-inch colour display, a directional pad, RGB lights, sound and vibration. Its radios cover Wi-Fi on 2.4, 5 and 6 GHz, plus Bluetooth. Payloads are written in DuckyScript and Bash, with root access to the underlying system.
Coverage of 6 GHz is the headline, since older Pineapples could not see that band. A wireless inventory that ignores 6 GHz now has an obvious gap.
What early users report
Field reports are still few, so treat them with care. One owner writing in December reported two to three hours of use per charge, and described firmware that is still maturing. That is one person's experience while learning the device, not a benchmark. It is a reminder to judge these tools by what they do today, not by the marketing.
Why 6 GHz is the good news
The 6 GHz band was designed with security as a baseline. Wi-Fi in that band requires WPA3 or Enhanced Open, along with Protected Management Frames, and there are no older security modes to fall back to. The specifications themselves acknowledge that Protected Management Frames can affect which active tests are available.
That does not make the attacks disappear. Passive observation still shows which networks and devices are around, and a client that can be persuaded to connect elsewhere is still at risk. But it is a real improvement, and one you get largely by upgrading.
What defenders should do
- Include 6 GHz and Bluetooth in your surveys. If your monitoring only covers 2.4 and 5 GHz, you are not seeing the whole picture.
- Move to WPA3 where you can, and watch transition modes. A network that also offers WPA2 for older clients keeps some of the older exposure.
- Tighten client behaviour. Remove old open networks from saved lists, and enforce server certificate validation on enterprise networks through policy.
- Use rogue access point detection. A network with your name on a device you do not own should raise an alert.
- Assume small and mobile. Nothing about this requires a laptop or a parked car, so physical signs are no longer a reliable first warning.