Laureline, Our Security Engineer, Reports From Black Alps 2018

I spent the last two days at Black Alps, a Cyber Security Conference in Yverdon-les-Bains. Besides enjoying the buffet, which was very good, I also had the opportunity to attend some very interesting talks and workshops. All the talks should be available on the Black Alps Youtube channel soon.

Here is a diary of what we did:

Day 1

Bypass Android security mechanisms using custom android: A very interesting talk about root/hooking detection on Android and methods to evade such detections can be implemented. This talk was not recorded and no photos were allowed.

Application level DDoS, the rise of CDNs and the end of the Free Internet: Despite the, at first glance, overly dramatic title, the talk raised some very interesting points regarding DDoS defence, the nearly absolute necessity of CDNs in today’s hostile internet, and how this climate could lead to the end of the Free Internet.

Lunch interlude: In addition to featuring free Software, there was also free beer!

Reversing and Vulnerability research of Smart Contracts: A very interesting workshop was held on reverse-engineering Ethereum Smart Contracts for vulnerability testing. There were several practical examples of vulnerabilities in the wild, improper initialization, ownership transfer bug, bad random number generation, and more. The slides are worth a read for anyone interested.

Cryptocurrency Mobile Malware: As with everything on the internet these days, there’s a dark side to cryptocurrencies too. This talk was about Android malware in particular. Fake wallets were expected, blackground mining malware? Not so much, the hash-rate is pretty bad, however.

Day 2

Challenges and Opportunities in Cloud Security: The Cloud is another word for someone else’s computer, this presents interesting challenges for implementing security. This talk was mostly focused on AWS security, how it’s sometimes lacking on Amazon’s part, and how to try your best to make it work regardless.

Group123: Korea in the Crosshairs: talk about a North Korean APT, their operating methods, targets, and tools. Much more entertaining to watch than to recount.

Lunch interlude: Featuring a Vaudoise speciality, the aptly named Papet Vaudois!

How to provide security fixes in a high constraint environment: Exactly what it says in the tin. Good pointers to handle security disclosures, and fixes without accidentally exposing your customers or breaking everything. The talk was mostly from an Open Source project perspective.

Building an Open Source Kubernetes security stack: Presented some very interesting tools to catch potential vulnerabilities before deployment, and to monitor activity inside your containers.

After missing last year’s edition, it felt nice to come back to Yverdon, to find new tracks and workshops, and yet more people attending the event. I will be there next year for sure, and not exclusively for the buffet.

Didn’t forget to take a photo of myself with the badge.

SwissBorg is Hiring! Find out if one of our promising positions is meant for you: https://jobs.lever.co/swissborg.