CyberWire Daily
Crafting malware with modern metals. [Research Saturday]
Apr 19, 2025
Join Nick Cerne, a Security Consultant from Bishop Fox with expertise in offensive security and malware development, as he dives into the fascinating realm of Rust in malware creation. He discusses how Rust's memory safety and anti-analysis features can enhance evasion tactics compared to traditional languages like C. Listeners will learn about the challenges of modern malware analysis and how evolving programming languages impact both malware development and cybersecurity defenses. Nick’s insights into realistic adversarial simulation are both enlightening and alarming!
20:03
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Quick takeaways
- Rust's unique memory management and safety features provide significant advantages for malware development, making detection and reverse engineering more challenging.
- The cybersecurity community must adapt its detection and analysis strategies as Rust-based malware grows, highlighting the limitations of traditional tools and antivirus solutions.
Deep dives
Emergence of Rust in Malware Development
Rust is increasingly being adopted for malware development due to its low-level capabilities, similar to C, combined with advanced features like memory safety guarantees. Traditional malware has typically been written in C, but newer programming languages such as Rust, D, and NIM are gaining traction among threat actors. The appeal of Rust lies in its unique memory management model, which leverages ownership principles, making it distinct from C's manual memory handling. As a result, this shift could lead to more sophisticated malware that poses challenges for cybersecurity defense systems.
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