Nullcon Goa 2023 | Reverse Engineering RGB Keyboard Backlights With Linux Kernel Drivers by Rishit

In this talk, Rishit Bansal discusses his open source project focused on reverse engineering the RGB keyboard driver for Windows HP laptops and re-implementing this functionality on the Linux platform by developing a kernel driver. He explains the challenges faced due to the absence of a unified interface for keyboard backlights, which leads manufacturers to create proprietary firmware that interacts with obscure Windows APIs. The session covers reverse engineering techniques applicable to .NET and Windows native applications, as well as Bansal's contributions to the Linux kernel, including submitting his first patch to the mainline 6.x Linux Kernel. His ongoing efforts aim to collaborate with kernel maintainers to establish new standards for unifying RGB keyboard drivers on Linux.