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Forum Index : Microcontroller and PC projects : Ghidra
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| BrianP Senior Member  Joined: 30/03/2017 Location: AustraliaPosts: 292 |
G'day all The NSA (yes, THE NSA) has just released to the public domain this FREE disassembler which is supposedly much better than very expensive tools such as IDA & the like. I know not that much about it, but it seems the IT industry has taken a really deep breath. An extremely clever security buff has given it a "brilliant" thumbs up. This is a tool that the NSA has developed themselves & has been using to analyze all sorts of software they have an interest in (AKA cybersecurity stuff et al). Supposedly the reason they have released it to the public domain is to encourage a wider analysis of the plethora of rogue software that plagues the internet these days. Anyway, it may be of some use to the machine code programmers among us, & who knows, might encourage more of us to dip a toe into THAT muddy water  URL is https://ghidra-sre.org/ - check it out. Read about it here - https://securityaffairs.co/wordpress/82037/hacking/nsa-released-ghidra.html I have downloaded & used it (in a very limited way) - installation is almost non-existent - just extract the zip. Do with it what you may... Cheers Brian P. |
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| Paul_L Guru  Joined: 03/03/2016 Location: United StatesPosts: 769 |
WOW!!! Years ago an engineer cousin of mine used to work for Uncle Sam but he would never ever tell us WHO he was working for much less what he was doing. When we asked him what NSA stood for he replied "No Such Agency". He just kept repeating over and over "No Such Agency". Now they're releasing really nice stuff to the public! What's this world coming to? Paul in NY |
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Grogster Admin Group  Joined: 31/12/2012 Location: New ZealandPosts: 9755 |
Crikey. The NSA - just being the NSA - you'd think they would release absolutely nothing. Unless this thing actually can spy on people in the background while they are using it or something. Collecting data on YOU for the NSA, while you use it to collect data on a 3rd party application.  Smoke makes things work. When the smoke gets out, it stops! |
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CaptainBoing Guru Joined: 07/09/2016 Location: United KingdomPosts: 2171 |
beware government agents bearing gifts. Probably add your pc as a black-web TOR repeater network or something daft. <puts on tinfoil hat> |
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bigmik Guru Joined: 20/06/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2971 |
Lads, Just install it on a “Burner PC.” Mik Mick's uMite Stuff can be found >>> HERE (Kindly hosted by Dontronics) <<< |
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| BrianP Senior Member Joined: 30/03/2017 Location: AustraliaPosts: 292 |
Yes, we all being the cynics we are (me included), jump on it as a government plot with a back door or worse. However the security community don't seem to have problem with it, mainly because it's (or going to be) fully open source. The other thing about it is that it would be very difficult to hide a back door in something that is, after all, a disassembler! Someone would very soon find it I would think. The NSA is obviously concerned about the proliferation of the hacking of their (American) infrastructure & business networks, (not to ignore that of other countries either), & feels that the more people there are pounding on software looking for vulnerabilities the better. I personally can only see good here. Some American companies are paying large sums (up to $500,000) to anyone finding vulnerabilities in their software & networks, & the availability of free tools can surely only aid in this discovery process. Apparently the NSA plans to offer jobs to smart programmers (read here, hackers) who demonstrate useful skills. (Don't any of you programmers desert the 'Mite world though  )It's all to do with national security (& Lord knows we need help in that here in Oz). Remember the Internet was never designed with any security model - it was purely a means of sharing files between the boffins of the day, & good luck with that now! I guess if there is a down side to all this it is that our own prize software creations will be more easily opened up to scrutiny / criticism / pirating (I wouldn't want to see any of the many talented people on this forum in any way discouraged). I personally would not be all that upset by any criticism of any software I might create - most software can be improved by a "team effort". My initial interest in the creation of this thread is that I have a paranoia about computer security, being involved as I am in computer repair & maintenance (business & domestic) & one gets a biased view of what can happen (I only see the bad stuff). Be very careful if / when your software has an Internet connection! When I saw this NSA initiative I was rather blown away with the potential. Anyway, enough raving from me - now back to the 'Mite world  B |
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