064 - MS-DOS Malware Chose Me

Unnamed Reverse Engineering Podcast · 21 May 2023 · 1h 08m

What this episode covers

Nika (ic3qu33n), a security consultant at Leviathan Security Group, discusses her reverse engineering of 16-bit MS-DOS malware, a project inspired by Mikko Hypponen’s Malware Museum. She explains how she uses tools like Rizin, Cutter, QEMU, and Bochs to analyze and recreate viruses from authors like Spanska and Dark Angel, focusing on their use of graphical payloads and polymorphic engines. Nika highlights the creative and political motivations of 1980s virus writers, noting that their techniques laid the groundwork for modern boot kits and UEFI malware.

Mentioned

Companies
Leviathan Security Group
Products
Tequila, Creeper, Elk Cloner
Tools
IDA, Rizin, Cutter, QEMU, Bochs, MASM32, NASM
Also
FreeDOS, VX Underground, Bitsavers.org, Spanska, Dark Angel

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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.