ReverseEngineering
Latest
NSA will release a free tool for reverse engineering malware
The NSA has frequently been accused of holding on to info that could potentially improve security, but this time it's being a little less secretive. The agency is planning to release a free reverse engineering tool, GHIDRA, in tandem with the RSA Conference on March 5th. The software dissects binaries for Android, iOS, macOS and Windows, turning them into assembly code that can help analyze malware or pinpoint questionable activity in otherwise innocent-looking software.
Apple hacker digs up Qualcomm baseband proof by decompiling iTunes?
We're a little short-staffed on Qualcomm chipset engineers at the moment, so forgive us if we can't immediately confirm this tale, but we're hearing iPhone hacker Zibri has discovered proof of the Apple / Qualcomm collaboration in his very own build of iTunes. Zibri claims that by tearing apart the latest version, he found the chunk of code above, which contains files that are allegedly the exclusive "building blocks" of Qualcomm radio firmware. That doesn't tell us anything about a supposed iPhone 5 or iPad 2, unfortunately, as it's probably just referring to that CDMA chipset in the Verizon iPhone 4... but with the right building blocks, one can craft any number of wonders.
Kinect hack explained: follow-along-at-home guide lets you reverse engineer USB, impress your friends
So, there's already an open source driver for the Kinect -- who needs to learn how to reverse engineer USB all over again? Well, ladyada of Adafruit Industries, the folks responsible for the Kinect hack bounty and the USB logs used by the bounty winner to get a jump on his hack, has published a detailed guide on exactly how she sniffed the Kinect's USB chatter. The guide isn't for the faint of heart, but it's not completely unintelligible to someone with a bit of time and determination. If anything it serves as an excellent bit of how-the-Kinect-was-won history. We're not expecting Microsoft to reconsider its "Microsoft does not condone the modification of its products" stance on this issue, or its petty threat of law enforcement "to keep Kinect tamper-resistant," but we do hope they've learned one thing by now: they're fighting a losing battle.
MintyBoost unlocks the secret of Apple's chargers
The folks at Minty Boost have unveiled a rather interesting Apple secret: just how the company charges its devices. In the video on the next page, you can see the whole process reverse-engineered. It's rather technical, but as long as you make sure all the wires go where they need to go (you need to lay out a certain series of resistors on the USB data lines, so that the device thinks it's hooked up to an official charger), you can actually build your own iPhone or iPod charger. In fact, there's a new Minty Boost kit which comes with prebuilt circuitry that you can use (inside an Altoids tin or whatever you want to use) to create your own iPhone USB charger. You can read about the whole process of reverse engineering Apple's process over on the official blog -- it's fascinating both how Apple implemented this process of "verifying" a certain USB charger, and also how Minty Boost eventually figured it out. It's definitely very technical, especially when you get into some of the final steps of amps and volts, but the bottom line is that by lining up those resistor levels, almost anyone can put together a working charger for any Apple device. Keep in mind that if you aren't familiar with basic electronics safety, these are not the projects for you.
