Chris Valasek
Chris Valasek | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 2, 1982 |
| Alma mater | University of Pittsburgh |
| Known for | Summercon Organizer, Automotive Hacking |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Computer Science |
Chris Valasek is a Senior Director with General Motors, and was formerly a computer security researcher with Cruise Automation,[1] a self-driving car startup previously owned by GM.
Career
Prior to his current employment, he worked for:
- Cruise (autonomous vehicle)
- IOActive
- Coverity
- Accuvant
- IBM
Education
Valasek holds a Bachelors in Computer Science from University of Pittsburgh. He currently lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Security Research
Microsoft Windows
Valasek has publicly demonstrated many security vulnerabilities, with particular focus on Microsoft Windows heap exploitation.
His 2009 presentation "Practical Windows XP/2003 Heap Exploitation"[2] at Black Hat presented a novel approach to gaining elevated access in a Windows environment.
Later research, such as his 2010 paper "Understanding the Low Fragmentation Heap: From Allocation to Exploitation"[3] demonstrated ways to circumvent vendor mitigations to the approaches outlined in his prior work.
Automotive Security
In 2013, he and Charlie Miller demonstrating a number of attack vectors against ECUs in automotive control networks.[4] Together with Miller, they have produced a survey of remote attack surfaces in then-current model year automobiles, an important first step in establishing the state of the art of automotive security and safety research.[5][6]
Summercon
Chris has been involved with the conference as part of the Summercon planning committee since 2003.[7] He is currently listed as Chairman Emeritus[8] on the Summercon Organizer page.
References
- ^ Weise, Elizabeth. "GM's self-driving car unit Cruise hires famous car hackers". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2025-03-26.
Charlie and Chris are getting the band back together.
- ^ McDonald, John; Valasek, Chris (2009-07-25). "Practical Windows XP/2003 Heap Exploitation" (PDF). Black Hat Briefings: 84. Retrieved 2017-03-01 – via Black Hat Briefings.
- ^ Valasek, Chris (2010-07-25). "Understanding the Low Fragmentation Heap" (PDF). Illmatics.com: 86. Retrieved 2017-03-01 – via Black Hat Briefings.
- ^ Andy Greenberg (2013-07-24). "Hackers Reveal Nasty New Car Attacks--With Me Behind The Wheel (Video)". Forbes.
- ^ Miller, Charlie; Valasek, Chris. "A Survey of Remote Automotive Attack Surfaces" (PDF). Black Hat USA 2014: 92. Retrieved 2017-03-01 – via Black Hat Briefings.
- ^ Andy Greenberg (2014-08-06). "How Hackable Is Your Car? Consult This Handy Chart". Wired.
- ^ ".:: Phrack Magazine ::". phrack.org. Retrieved 2025-04-06.
SummerCon enjoyed a stand in Pittsburgh for two years where Redpantz became a member of the planning committee and began to emcee.
- ^ "ORGANIZERS – Summercon". www.summercon.org. Retrieved 2025-04-06.
Chris Valasek Chairman Emeritus
External links
- Andy Greenberg (2015-07-21). "Hackers Remotely Kill a Jeep on the Highway—With Me in It". Wired.
- Andy Greenberg (2016-08-01). "The Jeep Hackers Are Back to Prove Car Hacking Can Get Much Worse". Wired.