Saving Private Brian

Presented at DeepSec 2019 „Internet of Facts and Fears“, Unknown date/time (Unknown duration).

This talk will be given as the story of Brian, an aid worker operating in a hostile third country. When he's stopped going in at the border he had his iPhone taken from him and then returned to him 15 minutes later. Now he can't be sure if any malware was implanted on his device. Malware that could compromise him, his organisation and anyone who co-operates with him. He needs his phone to do his work but should he stop using it instead? Are all his contacts already compromised? Should he warn them and should he use his phone to do so? And will he and his phone be tracked to any in-person meetings?

iOS malware is rare, advanced and difficult to detect when deployed. I will talk through the above scenario on the basis of the threats that exist, how iOS malware is implanted, what its capabilities are and how it can be detected simply and quickly in future. This will increase the safety and security of the workers we rely on to make the world a better place.


Presenters:

  • Michael Burke - Grant Thornton
    I am Ireland's most active digital forensic investigator working on a wide variety of cases for Grant Thornton but specialise in MacOS and iOS forensics. I am an external expert for the EU in cybersecurity funding decisions. I have lectured at third level, spoken at conferences and briefed the Irish national cybercrime unit on my research in digital forensics. I hold Masters degrees in both Forensic Computing and International Security Studies. I am a former member of the Irish national police service as well as a reformed member of the start up world.

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