Distinguished Malware Technical Lead at Dragos. Lead Malware Analyst on TRISIS and PIPEDREAM. Spend my time searching for and tearing apart ICS threats.
We've been working on this one for a while, so I'm excited to finally share our whitepaper on defining ICS Malware. In it, we describe how Dragos identifies and differentiates ICS Malware using three properties: ICS-capability, Malicious Intent, and Adverse Effects.
http://www.dragos.com/resources/whitepaper/ics-malware-definition/
I almost quit computer science today because I found out there are ELEVEN hyphen chars in UTF-8, including a SOFT HYPHEN (0xC2 0xAD) which is a "discretionary hyphen" OR
"an invisible format character indicating a possible hyphenation location"
I didn't know UTF-8 believed in quantum hyphenation.
It's tough to kick habits from starting out on Intel assembly. I was emulating some ARM firmware, and I kept forgetting that ARM allows ops like: MOV PC, R12, or MOVNE PC, LR where PC is the destination. So, the code transfers kept surprising me, like riding in a taxi with an aggressive driver.
Turns out my view of modern is a combination of subjectively advanced features and popularity among my colleagues. Here’s a list of PL ages for reference.
COBOL is 66
Lisp is 65
C is 53
C++ is 40
Haskell is 35
Python is 34
Ruby is 30
Java is 29
JavaScript is 29
C# is 25
Go is 15
Rust is 13
2/2
Saw this quote in WIRED: “[DOGE] aims to migrate all SSA systems off COBOL … onto a more modern replacement like Java ...”
It struck me that I didn’t consider Java modern either. So I looked up language ages. Haskell, Python, and Ruby are def more modern than Java. Nope!
1/2
I haven't felt this level of anxiety at work in a while.
Check out the latest tmp.Out. Lots of great articles on ELF and Linux Rootkits. Even has its own mixtape!
We heard you needed some more time, so we wanted to let you cook.
We decided to push the Phrack 72 CFP deadline back until June 15th.
Stay tuned for upcoming Phrack events.
Print this flyer out and give it to someone IRL!!
I asked an AI tool to help me brainstorm talk titles based on the contents of the abstract I planned on submitting.
It came back with 5 options. One of them was a word for word copy of a talk title from a presentation given last year … by me. Super helpful.
The best answer I’ve heard so far is “Show up to them”.
I think I need to consider that before social media, I would have just learned about these things through chance and community spaces. And I wouldn’t know what I was missing anyway.
Seems like a fine alternative to me.
How do you all keep up with your favorite local businesses without Instagram or FB?
All the discourse surrounding the incoming administration and Meta’s response got me thinking about what purpose their products serve in my day to day, and I think local business and restaurant news is the main one.
@ktneely 😅 I feel this.
I don’t think we talk enough about how time management implies making peace with the idea that alot of things will never get done.
It’s the hardest thing for me to start a writing project. Each time, I fight with procrastination and cope with the anxiety that comes with making an idea real.
My solution: set aside time using time blocking, a pomodoro timer (https://www.timetimer.com/ ) to break up the work into friendlier chunks, and a writing tool with focus mode (https://ia.net/writer) to limit distractions.
So far, it’s been working alright. How do y’all deal with this problem?
Who knew the Philipinnes USPS office was so darn pushy!
You'd better put me on payroll if you expect me to do this much work to infect myself.
(+63 is Philipinnes, the link is malicious, please don't fall for this)
Picked this up on a whim at PAX, and played it as soon as we got back. Delightful game, and easy to travel with:
Sosig by Joking Hazard
I was an audience member for a few rounds of Underwater Cities (Rio Grande Games) that my buddy taught at #paxunplugged
It’s a fun engine building/resource management game. Can be a lot to keep track of near the end, but that’s a small quibble.
How do I turn this into a #ransomware analogy? #paxunplugged
We did it, thankfully. I don’t think I had the patience for another 3.5 hr+ attempt on this scenario.
I joined Blue Sky along with many in the infosec world. You can follow me there, but also, I have no intention of leaving Mastodon anytime soon.
A couple years ago, I stopped drinking at very large company/professional networking events. When folks ask about it, I usually just say something like, "I don't like to be drunk around my coworkers". That's not the whole truth though. It's more about first impressions and fostering a feeling of safety and comfort for those around me.
I have no problems having a few drinks with my friends or coworkers I'm comfortable with, but at networking events, I'm meeting a lot of people for the first time. I want them to meet the best version of me - aware, listening and attentive, and not a tipsy version of me that's more likely to be a poor conversation partner.
Further, I've heard or witnessed too many stories about icky, gross, or just outright terrible behavior at professional networking events in tech and other professions - Stories involving offhanded misogyny, racist jokes, or outright harassment. I don't think alcohol suddenly makes someone racist or whatever, so much as it coaxes problem actions and words out of folks who already don't see a problem with those types of behaviors. But the fact is, in almost every one of the stories, the perpetrator is a man who has had too much to drink.
A conference/networking environment is intimidating enough with all the people, but it can be even worse if there's alcohol present and you've had one too many previous bad encounters with drunk men. So, these days I may have one alcoholic drink, but then reach for the NA options: bubbly water, NA beer, sodas. I want folks to feel safe and comfortable around me. The alcohol can wait until I'm not at work.
