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Insights From Honeynet Project's Reverse Challenge for Cyber Defenders

In a further attempt to enable defenders to learn from the hacking experience itself, The Honeynet Project, which was established by a group of computer security researchers, set up the Reverse Challenge. The test was to make a full analysis of. . .. In a further attempt to enable defenders to learn from the hacking experience itself, The Honeynet Project, which was established by a group of computer security researchers, set up the Reverse Challenge. The test was to make a full analysis of an unknown program code found on a compromised honeynet system, using the reverse engineering tools and techniques used by security specialists. The Challenge, the results of which were released this month, followed in the footsteps of its predecessor, The Forensic Challenge, launched in January 2001. "The binary was downloaded over 5,000 times. The challenge required highly sophisticated skills, so we were excited to see so many people try it out," organiser of the Reverse Challenge, Lance Spitzner, told ZDNet Australia. With stringent documentation required, just 35 contestants from across the globe decoded the challenge and submitted their findings in full -- and the winner was 27-year-old Australian Dion Mendel. Mendel's involvement was out of "professional curiosity" as well as the challenge to learn something new. A computer programmer by trade, Mendel's interest in computing is that it provides a wealth of puzzles to be solved. "Unfortunately, it is also addictive," he said. "I have been told that reverse engineering and de-compiling are extremely difficult tasks. I wished to see if this were true," Mendel said. Furthermore, he added, the challenge provided an opportunity to see just what the technical capabilities of crackers are. Mendel spent 80 hours participating in the challenge, 25 of which were spent writing up the prerequisite documentation. The link for this article located at ZDNet is no longer available. . The Honeynet Project's Reverse Challenge offers cyber defenders a hands-on hackingexperience to confront real-world threats and refine their skills in threat detection. Honeynet Project, Reverse Engineering, Cybersecurity Training. . LinuxSecurity.com Team

Jul 22, 2002 • LinuxSecurity.com Team Hacks/Cracks