Hardware Podcasts

021 - Silent Disco Wizards

Unnamed Reverse Engineering Podcast · 23 Jun 2019 · 26m

What this episode covers

Jonathan Brossard, a security researcher formerly at Salesforce and Change.org, discusses his work on the Witchcraft Compiler Collection (WCC) and the SilentProtest project. He explains how WCC tools like Witchcraft Linker and Witchcraft Shell facilitate reverse engineering by transforming binaries into shared libraries and allowing direct function calls without source code. Brossard also details the SilentProtest hardware, a low-cost Wi-Fi mesh network built with Raspberry Pis and Icecast, designed for silent discos and offline protest accountability to avoid IMSI catchers.

Most relevant to

early-stage companies

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Change.org, Salesforce
Products
Moabi, BitLocker, Rakshasa, Witchcraft Compiler Collection, Witchcraft Linker, Witchcraft Shell, SilentProtest, Icecast, RocketChat
Chips
Raspberry Pi
Tools
QEMU, strace, Ltrace

Related episodes from other shows

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • Hackaday Podcast · 58m

    Ep 378: C Coders, Ceramic Printers, and Shadow Archives

    Hosts Elliot Williams and Kristina Panos discuss the upcoming Supercon conference in Pasadena and the Frikkin' Lasers Contest. They cover several hacks, including Abdul Sahil's OpenStrap project which reverse-engineers the Whoop fitness tracker's Bluetooth protocol to enable local data processing, and Paul Rickards' portable Raspberry Pi cyberdeck. The episode also features a deep dive into Michael Weebush's analog directional coupler for bidirectional communication over a single wire, and Maya's analysis of the challenges in archiving software as physical media disappears.

    Debugging & failure analysisEmbedded firmware
    10 chapters

  • Embedded.fm · 1h 08m

    100: Unintentional Radiator

    Hosts Amelia Cook and Christopher White reunite with guests Star Simpson and Jen Costillo to reflect on the evolution of the hardware hobbyist landscape over the two years since their first appearance. Star Simpson, who works at Orion, discusses her wearable device project and her open-source FPGA toolchain initiative called Balboa, while also recounting the challenges of crowdfunding the Octopart reference card. The group analyzes the shifting attitudes toward privacy and security in the Internet of Things, the rise of accessible prototyping tools like 3D printing and Crowd Supply, and the changing ecosystem of development boards including the Odroid and Arduino.

    Crowdfunding & preordersChips, FPGAs & semiconductors
    10 chapters

  • Embedded.fm · 1h 02m

    130: Criminal Training Camp (Repeat)

    Alvaro Prieto, an embedded firmware engineer at Planet Labs, discusses his transition from Apple to the startup, highlighting the cultural shift from siloed secrecy to radical transparency. He details several personal hardware projects, including reverse-engineering the Parallax Proto-X quadcopter's radio protocol and building autonomous laser-shooting robots for DEFCON. Prieto also shares insights on his open-source tool, Silta, which bridges USB to I2C/SPI for sensor testing, and reflects on the importance of community encouragement in maker culture.

    Embedded firmwareDebugging & failure analysis
    7 chapters

  • Embedded.fm · 1h 02m

    130: Criminal Training Camp

    Alvaro Prieto, an embedded firmware engineer at Planet Labs, discusses his transition from Apple to a startup environment and his diverse hardware and software projects. He details his reverse engineering of the Syma Proto-X quadcopter radio protocol, his experience building autonomous laser-shooting robots for DEFCON, and his creation of 'Silta,' an open-source I2C/SPI bridge tool. Prieto also shares insights on company culture, the technical challenges of testing satellite manufacturing tools, and his personal projects like a Skype video message exporter.

    Embedded firmwareDebugging & failure analysis
    7 chapters

  • Hackaday Podcast · 58m

    Ep 193: Found Computers, Internet Over WhatsApp, Two-Factor C64, Shifting Cars, and Self-Shooting Fighter Planes

    Editors Elliot Williams and Dan Maloney review a week of hacks, including tunneling IP over WhatsApp, generating 2FA codes on a Commodore 64, and emulating ISA cards with an FPGA. They discuss the security of a Zap Tech EV charger, the prevalence of Linux in scavenged smart TVs, and repurposing 3D printers for lab automation. The episode concludes with a discussion on the F-11 Tiger's self-shooting incident and the importance of physical modeling in engineering.

    Debugging & failure analysisSecurity & privacy
    9 chapters

The summary, chapters and topics are generated from the episode’s audio by this directory, not written by Unnamed Reverse Engineering Podcast. The episode itself belongs to its publisher.