Blackhoodie at Recon 2024

Reverse Engineering Ransomware

BlackHoodie will be back at ReCon this year, THE reverse engineering conference in our industry, and will bring you no less than a training about reverse engineering of ransomware. ReCon is the place to be if you’re interested in anything to do with taking things apart, and it takes place in the beautiful city of Montreal in Quebec, Canada in June. BlackHoodie will be held June 26 and 27, its two action packed days of binary analysis. We’re looking forward to seeing you in the classroom :)

TL;DR:

What: Reverse Engineering Ransomware (beginner/intermediate?)

When: June 26 and 27, 2024

Where: Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Who: Women

Registration: fill form here, closing when all the seats are taken

Fees: The workshop is free; food, travel and accommodation is responsibility of attendees

Agenda

Reverse Engineering Ransomware (Beginner - Intermediate)

Teachers: @spiderspiders_, @sud0suw, @0x0bea

Description:

The aim of this workshop is to become familiar with how to approach reverse engineering Ransomware. We will dive into how files get encrypted, how to recognize cryptographic algorithms and what are some popular evasion techniques used. The workshop will also teach how to do static analysis, how to use specific tools for analysis and writing scripts.

Prerequisites:

• Basics of x86 disassembly, you can follow this online training by Marion Part1 Part2 Part3 Part4
• Laptop capable of running VMs
• Knowledge of some scripting language (for bonus exercises)

What is BlackHoodie?

BlackHoodie is a free, women only reverse engineering workshop and community. More information can be found here: https://www.blackhoodie.re/about/

Why women-only?

One qualifies to attend an in-person bootcamp either if born and raised female, or if one identifies as a woman. This concept of women-only has no intention of putting up walls or feeling exclusive. Blackhoodie is about creating space in an industry that’s very competitive. It is a comfortable place, where attendees feel encouraged to grow skills without pressure. We do what we do, not to create women-only bubbles, as contradicting as it might sound, but to enable a minority to enter the security space, learn skills that are otherwise expensive to learn, find their interests and grow a professional network.

And, it works. BlackHoodie alumnae have gone far beyond being successful in the classroom since the workshop series started. They ventured out to start community projects and collaborations, got themselves new jobs in the security industry, went to speak at major security conferences, joined review boards and become influencers in our community. Many went on to mentor others after they had found their spot, came back to BlackHoodie to give trainings on their own or are now conference trainers and teach classes to the community.

Finally, why does the security industry need more women at all? The industry is growing and facing a talent shortage. More importantly, jobs are typically well paid, come with certain privileges, and are challenging and often fulfilling. And we do firmly believe our society as a whole can only benefit from having more women with money, independence and confidence. Likewise, the tech sector has grown in size and influence, and with great power comes great responsibility – responsibility best shared among a diverse body of decision makers.