Uploaded December 2019 | Updated September 2026, 4 days ago
Athletes are competing in virtual cycling by riding real bikes on stationary trainers which power the in-game athletic performance. Riders train and compete online against each other. New racing teams are even competing in Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) sanctioned events. Better at hacking than riding? Me, too. I’ll expand on the dubious achievements of prior cycling cheaters by showing how to use the open source USBQ toolkit to inspect and modify USB communications between the Zwift application and the wireless sensors that monitor and control the stationary trainer. USBQ is a Python module and application that uses standard hardware, such as the Beaglebone Black, to inspect and modify communications between USB devices and the host. You’ll ride away with a lesson on building your own customized USB man-in-the-middle hacking tool, too.
Athletes are competing in virtual cycling by riding real bikes on stationary trainers which power the in-game athletic performance. Riders train and compete online against each other. New racing teams are even competing in Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) sanctioned events. Better at hacking than riding? Me, too. I’ll expand on the dubious achievements of prior cycling cheaters by showing how to use the open source USBQ toolkit to inspect and modify USB communications between the Zwift application and the wireless sensors that monitor and control the stationary trainer. USBQ is a Python module and application that uses standard hardware, such as the Beaglebone Black, to inspect and modify communications between USB devices and the host. You’ll ride away with a lesson on building your own customized USB man-in-the-middle hacking tool, too.
