# 039 - Changing the Nature of Reality

- Show: [Unnamed Reverse Engineering Podcast](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/unnamed-reverse-engineering-podcast)
- Published: 2020-09-13
- Length: 1h 01m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/unnamed-reverse-engineering-podcast/2020-09-13-039-changing-the-nature-of-reality
- Listen: https://unnamedre.com/episode/39

## Summary

Natalie Silvanovich, a member of Google's Project Zero, discusses her extensive reverse engineering of Tamagotchi devices, detailing how she bypassed epoxy blobs using nitric acid and exploited memory timing vulnerabilities to dump firmware from GeneralPlus chips. She explains the evolution of the devices from simple 6502-based systems to modern ARM-based models with Bluetooth, Android apps, and Unity engines, while also touching on her professional work finding remote code execution vulnerabilities in WebRTC and Flash implementations. The conversation covers the small but dedicated community of Tamagotchi hackers, including Mr. Blinky and Boulter, and highlights the tools she uses, such as IDA, Ghidra, and Frida, to analyze both hardware and software components.

## Chapters

- [0:28](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/unnamed-reverse-engineering-podcast/2020-09-13-039-changing-the-nature-of-reality#t=28) Introduction: Natalie Silvanovich and Project Zero
- [6:21](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/unnamed-reverse-engineering-podcast/2020-09-13-039-changing-the-nature-of-reality#t=381) Reverse Engineering Tamagotchi Hardware and Epoxy Blobs
- [13:32](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/unnamed-reverse-engineering-podcast/2020-09-13-039-changing-the-nature-of-reality#t=812) GeneralPlus Chips and Firmware Dumping Techniques
- [22:51](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/unnamed-reverse-engineering-podcast/2020-09-13-039-changing-the-nature-of-reality#t=1371) Modern Tamagotchi Bluetooth, Apps, and Unity
- [36:33](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/unnamed-reverse-engineering-podcast/2020-09-13-039-changing-the-nature-of-reality#t=2193) Security Research: Flash, WebRTC, and Remote Exploits
- [49:30](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/unnamed-reverse-engineering-podcast/2020-09-13-039-changing-the-nature-of-reality#t=2970) Collaboration, Tools, and Career Advice

## Topics

- [Debugging & failure analysis](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/debugging-and-failure-analysis)
- [Embedded firmware](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/embedded-firmware)
- [Security & privacy](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/security-and-privacy)
- [EDA & CAD tools](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/eda-and-cad-tools)
- [Microcontrollers & dev platforms](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/microcontrollers-and-platforms)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Project Zero (company)
- Tamagotchi (product)
- GeneralPlus (chip)
- Blackberry (company)
- Kwartzlab (company)
- Travis Goodspeed (other)
- Mr. Blinky (other)
- MyMeets (product)
- SpritesMods (other)
- Apktool (tool)
- smali (other)
- Unity (other)
- androguard (tool)
- Adobe Flash (other)
- Adobe AIR (other)
- WebRTC (other)
- PJSIP (other)
- IDA (tool)
- Ghidra (tool)
- Frida (tool)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [111: Potty Train Your Tamagotchi](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2015-07-29-111-potty-train-your-tamagotchi) (Embedded.fm)
- [259: Calculators Changed My Life](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2018-09-07-259-calculators-changed-my-life) (Embedded.fm)
- [An Interview with Dmitry Nedospasov](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2016-06-17-an-interview-with-dmitry-nedospasov) (The Amp Hour)
- [An Interview with Trammell Hudson](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2019-10-21-an-interview-with-trammell-hudson) (The Amp Hour)
- [New Life Skills with Joe Grand](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2022-01-31-new-life-skills-with-joe-grand) (The Amp Hour)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/unnamed-reverse-engineering-podcast/2020-09-13-039-changing-the-nature-of-reality. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to Unnamed Reverse Engineering Podcast.