Screaming in the Cloud

Replay - Hacking AWS in Good Faith with Nick Frichette

Dec 26, 2024

In this discussion, Nick Frichette, a Staff Security Researcher at Datadog specializing in offensive AWS security, shares his insights on the dynamic field of cloud security. He delves into the various roles of cloud security researchers and highlights the thrill of discovering vulnerabilities in AWS environments. Nick introduces his project, Hacking the Cloud, and emphasizes the importance of ethical vulnerability reporting. Listeners will enjoy anecdotes about AWS exploits, the nuances of legal permissions for penetration testing, and the significance of building rapport with cloud providers.

32:32

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Nick Frichette

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Quick takeaways

Cloud security researchers, like Nick Frichette, play a crucial role in ethical penetration testing to enhance security within AWS environments.

The initiative Hacking the Cloud aims to consolidate offensive security resources, addressing the knowledge gap in cloud vulnerability research.

Deep dives

Role of a Cloud Security Researcher

A cloud security researcher focuses on identifying vulnerabilities in cloud systems, specifically through offensive security practices. This role encompasses various tasks, including penetration testing and security research aimed at understanding potential threats in platforms like AWS. A significant aspect of this role involves exploring how to exploit vulnerabilities effectively while also working to improve defenses against such exploits. The distinction between red teamers, who execute attacks, and blue teamers, who defend against them, highlights the duality of security research, where both sides must continuously evolve their techniques.

Intro

2min

Exploring the Roles of Cloud Security Researchers

2min

Navigating Cloud Vulnerabilities

14min

Navigating the Ethics of Cloud Security Vulnerabilities

3min

Navigating Vulnerability Disclosures

7min

Exploring AWS Vulnerabilities

5min

On this Screaming in the Cloud Replay, we’re taking you back to our chat with Nick Frichette. He’s the maintainer of hackingthe.cloud, and holds security and solutions architect AWS certifications, and in his spare time, he conducts vulnerability research at Hacking the Cloud. Join Corey and Nick as they talk about the various kinds of cloud security researchers and touch upon offensive security, why Nick decided to create Hacking the Cloud, how AWS lets security researchers conduct penetration testing in good faith, some of the more interesting AWS exploits Nick has discovered, how it’s fun to play keep-away with incident response, why you need to get legal approval before conducting penetration testing, and more.

Show Highlights

(0:00) Intro

(0:42) The Duckbill Group sponsor read

(1:15) What is a Cloud Security Researcher?

(3:49) Nick’s work with Hacking the Cloud

(5:24) Building relationships with cloud providers

(7:34) Nick’s security findings through cloud logs

(13:05) How Nick finds security flaws

(15:31) Reporting vulnerabilities to AWS and “bug bounty” programs

(18:41) The Duckbill Group sponsor read

(19:24) How to report vulnerabilities ethically

(21:52) Good disclosure programs vs. bad ones

(28:23) What’s next for Nick

(31:27) Where you can find more from Nick

About Nick Frichette

Nick Frichette is a Staff Security Researcher at Datadog, specializing in offensive security within AWS environments. His focus is on discovering new attack vectors targeting AWS services, environments, and applications. From his research, Nick develops detection methods and preventive measures to secure these systems. Nick’s work often leads to the discovery of vulnerabilities within AWS itself, and he collaborates closely with Amazon to ensure they are remediated.

Nick has also presented his research at major industry conferences, including Black Hat USA, DEF CON, fwd:cloudsec, and others.

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