Blackhoodie at ReCon 2023

Introduction to Software Reverse Engineering

We’re extremely excited to be back at ReCon 2023, and will be offering an in-person introduction to software reverse engineering for women. The class will be fun, challenging, and prepare students to tackle RE problems on their own. ReCon Montreal is hosting us again for two awesome days of staring at bits and bytes with a vengeance. ReCon is the only conference exclusively focussed on all things reverse engineers, there is no better place to host a reverse engineering class. Depending on class size, we might even have free conference tickets for students <3

TL;DR:

What: class on software reverse engineering, introductory

When: June 7 & 8 2023 - 9am-5pm

Where: Montreal, details TBD

Who: Women

Registration: fill form here (registration open until we reach capacity)

Fees: The training is free; food, travel and hotel is responsibility of attendees

Agenda

Introduction to Software Reverse Engineering

Teachers: Marion Marschalek (@pinkflawd) and Morgan Whitlow (@SynapticRewrite)

Capacity: 16 seats

Topic: This class will introduce students to the basics of reverse engineering, from analyzing a file format to using disassemblers and debuggers, reading assembly code, understanding functions and call stacks and solving RE challenges with their own skills. Students will walk away with the ability to approach a reverse engineering problem with the right mindset. And it will be fun, lots of fun :)

Prerequisites: A laptop with IDAPro Free installed, class materials will be hosted on github.

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.