Conversations 13: Reflections on Ruxcon 2015

The Corrupted Nerds podcast returns, kicking off a new series with a look at the Ruxcon 2015 information security conference held in Melbourne on 24 and 25 October.

In this first episode of series two, it’s a break from the usual long-form interview format to bring you a panel discussion. Joining me, Stilgherrian, are: Michael McKinnon, social media and security awareness director for AVG Technologies AU; and Darren Pauli, security reporter for The Register.

There’s also a conversation with Dr Vanessa Teague, a cryptographer from the University of Melbourne, about the security of electronic voting systems.

The panel conversation was recorded on 31 October 2015, with both Michael McKinnon and Darren Pauli at their homes in Melbourne — which is why you can hear chickens and dogs. The interview with Vanessa Teague was recorded on 30 October 2015.

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Thank You

This episode of Corrupted Nerds was made possible by a Pozible crowdfunding campaign, Send Stilgherrian to Ruxcon 2015.

My thanks to WAY SPECIAL SUPPORTERS Paul Davis, Paul Williams, Peter Sandilands; SPECIAL SUPPORTERS Gavin Costello, Michael Cowley; RATHER FINE SUPPORTERS Johan de Wit, Ian Kath, Daniel O’Connor; and FINE SUPPORTERS Syl Mobile, Kath O’Donnell, Benno Rice, Iain Chalmers, Andrew Mc, Dave Hall, Kathy Reid, Peter Blakeley, David Heath, and someone who wishes to remain anonymous.

Special thanks, too, to three other generous supporters who asked for no reward. You are all very much appreciated.

Episode Notes

1. Ruxcon conference website.


2. A link to Karl Denton’s presentation, Automated Malware Analysis: A Behavioural Approach to Automated Unpacking, will appear here once it’s published.


3. Meet Chris Rock, the man with the power to kill off any Australian, Sydney Morning Herald, 9 August 2015.


4. A link to Chris Gates’ presentation, Purple Teaming: One year after going from full time breaker to part time fixer, will appear here once it’s published.


5. Car hack uses digital-radio broadcasts to seize control, BBC News, 22 July 2015.


6. The battle of Cupertino: Jailbreakers do it for freedom, not cash, The Register, 27 October 2015.


7. Mostly Harmless: Google Project Zero man’s verdict on Windows 10, The Register, 26 November 2015.


8. New top-level domains a money grab and a mistake: Paul Vixie, ZDNet, 26 October 2015. This article has links to the technical matters discussed, including DNSSEC, DNS RRL, DNS RPZ, and the DANE project.


9. Boffin’s easy remote hijack hack pops scores of router locks, The Register, 11 October 2015.


10. Broadband routers: SOHOpeless and vendors don’t care, The Register, 5 March 2015.


11. Dr Vanessa Teague’s home page.


12. Corrupted Nerds Conversations 8: E-voting with Dr Vanessa Teague, 4 November 2013.


13. Malware menaces poison ads as Google, Yahoo! look away, The Register, 25 August 2015.

[Photo: Digital manipulation of Ruxcon logo by Stilgherrian, available for re-use under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs license (CC BY-ND).]

Conversations 13: Reflections on Ruxcon 2015 by Corrupted Nerds is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at http://corruptednerds.com/pod/c00013/