David Bombal #447: Mind blowing 🤯 $20 million USD bounties! (Zero to Hero Money Hacking Roadmap)
Stephen Sims, exploit development and reverse‑engineering expert and SANS instructor, walks through high-stakes vulnerability work and money-making paths in security. He discusses bug bounty vs binary exploitation, zero-day markets and huge payouts, patch diffing to weaponize fixes, AI speeding reverse engineering, and ethical risks around selling exploits.
01:39:48
Find Unexplored Attack Surfaces
- Target under-researched attack surfaces instead of competing on crowded ones; niche surfaces yield higher returns.
- Start small and build expertise; you don't have to chase iOS six-chain exploits immediately.
Leverage Patch Diffing For '1-Day' Exploits
- Use patch diffing (one-day research) to find actionable vulnerabilities by comparing patched vs unpatched binaries.
- Learn to extract, diff, debug, and weaponize patches; weaponized patched bugs often have commercial value.
24-Hour Patch-To-Exploit Example
- Valentina (Chompy) and Ruben diffed a patched AFD.sys and weaponized a privilege escalation in under 24 hours.
- Stephen highlights how fast, skilled teams can turn patches into exploitable bugs quickly.
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Intro
00:00 • 41sec
Stephen's background and teaching at SANS
00:41 • 2min
How to become an expert in hacking
02:57 • 1min
Hackfest Hollywood and the next generation
04:12 • 1min
Money-making paths in hacking
05:39 • 2min
Risks of cybercrime and dark web markets
08:04 • 4min
Ransomware-as-a-service and its business model
12:19 • 4min
AI enabling malware creation
16:31 • 5min
Personal story: opportunities vs. crime
21:07 • 2min
Bug bounty landscape: web vs binary
23:23 • 4min
Web bounties: expectations and strategies
27:30 • 6min
Zero-day markets and Zerodium payouts
33:53 • 6min
Find under-researched attack surfaces
40:14 • 1min
End-day (1-day) exploitation and patch diffing
41:41 • 10min
Diff tools and weaponization workflow
51:48 • 3min
Patch-to-exploit case study: AFD.sys
54:33 • 1min
Professional services and typical career paths
55:42 • 33sec
Stephen's career journey and lessons
56:15 • 8min
Safe exploit sales and buyer considerations
01:03:53 • 4min
Disclosure options and buyer tiers
01:07:24 • 4min
Moral implications of selling exploits
01:11:35 • 4min
Zero-to-hero roadmap: study and practice
01:15:05 • 4min
Using AI to speed reverse engineering
01:18:43 • 3min
Learning strategies: CTFs, mentors, and courses
01:21:30 • 6min
Fuzzing, trigger-code cheats, and exploitDB practice
01:27:32 • 4min
Analyze attack surfaces and watch for changes
01:31:06 • 1min
Networking, conferences, and work-life balance
01:32:24 • 2min
Perseverance, frustration, and real hunting anecdotes
01:34:25 • 5min
Outro
01:39:24 • 19sec
#69367
Gray Hat Hacking
The Ethical Hacker's Handbook, Sixth Edition
Stephen Sims
Grey Hat Hacking is a comprehensive guide that explores the techniques and strategies used by security professionals and ethical hackers to identify and mitigate vulnerabilities in systems and networks.
The book covers a wide range of topics, including penetration testing, exploit development, reverse engineering, and malware analysis.
It provides readers with practical, hands-on exercises and real-world case studies to help them develop their skills and stay ahead of the latest threats.
Grey Hat Hacking equips readers with the knowledge and tools necessary to defend against cyberattacks and protect their organizations from harm.
The book emphasizes the importance of understanding both offensive and defensive security techniques in order to effectively address modern cybersecurity challenges.
#86243
A Guide to Kernel Exploitation
Attacking the Core
Enrico Perla
Massimiliano Oldani
A Guide to Kernel Exploitation teaches the fundamental principles of hacking and exploit development by focusing on low-level techniques.
The book explores topics such as buffer overflows, network communication, and cryptographic vulnerabilities through hands-on examples and detailed explanations.
It guides readers through the process of analyzing, exploiting, and securing systems, emphasizing practical skills and a deep understanding of underlying mechanisms.
Readers learn to craft shellcode, manipulate memory, and bypass security measures.
By providing a solid foundation in both offensive and defensive security, the book prepares readers to tackle real-world cybersecurity challenges and think critically about system vulnerabilities.
#33046
• Mentioned in 2 episodes
Hacking
The Art of Exploitation
Jon Erickson
This book provides a detailed introduction to the techniques of exploitation and creative problem-solving methods in computer security.
It covers topics such as program exploitation (including buffer overflows and format strings), networking (including packet sniffing, connection hijacking, and port scanning), and cryptography (including symmetric and asymmetric encryption and quantum key distribution).
The book includes practical examples and a live CD with a Linux programming environment to help readers practice the techniques described.
It emphasizes hands-on learning and is designed to help readers understand the underlying logic behind various hacking attacks and how to defend against them.
Stephen Sims shares his years of experience with us and shows us how we can make money hacking. But be careful - some of the options are not recommended.
// Stephen's Social //
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@OffByOneSecu...
Twitter:
/ steph3nsims
// Stephen Recommends //
Programming Tools:
Online Compiler, Visual Debugger, and AI Tutor for Python, Java, C, C++, and JavaScript:
https://pythontutor.com/
PyCharm – Python IDE with Great IDA Pro Support:https://www.jetbrains.com/pycharm/
VS Code:https://code.visualstudio.com/
Patch Diffing:
Windows Binary Index for Patch Diffing:https://winbindex.m417z.com/
BinDiff Tool for IDA Pro, Ghidra, or Binary Ninjahttps://www.zynamics.com/bindiff.html
Diaphora Diffing Tool for IDA Prohttp://diaphora.re/
PatchExtract for Extracting MS Patches from MSU Formathttps://gist.github.com/wumb0/306f97d...
Vulnerable Things to Hack
HackSys Extreme Vulnerable Driver:https://github.com/hacksysteam/HackSy...
WebGoat – Deliberately Insecure Application:https://owasp.org/www-project-webgoat/
Damn Vulnerable Web App:https://github.com/digininja/DVWA
Buggy Web App:http://itsecgames.com/
Gruyere Cheesy Web App:https://google-gruyere.appspot.com/
Metasploitable:https://sourceforge.net/projects/meta...
Damn Vulnerable iOS App:https://resources.infosecinstitute.co...
OWASP Multillidae:https://github.com/webpwnized/mutillidae
Online CTF’s and Games:
SANS Holiday Hack 2023 and Prior:https://www.sans.org/mlp/holiday-hack... https://www.holidayhackchallenge.com/...
CTF Time – A great list of upcoming and previous CTF’s!:https://ctftime.org/
YouTube Channels:
/ @davidbombal
/ @nahamsec
/ @offbyonesecurity
/ @_johnhammond
/ @ippsec
https://www.youtube.com/@LiveOverflow...
Free Learning Resources:
SANS Free Resources – Webcasts, Whitepapers, Posters & Cheat Sheets, Tools, Internet Storm Center:https://www.sans.org/security-resources/
Shellphish - Heap Exploitation:https://github.com/shellphish/how2heap
Exploit Database - Downloadable Vulnerable Apps and Corresponding Exploits:https://www.exploit-db.com/
Google Hacking Database (GHDB):https://www.exploit-db.com/google-hac...
Google Cybersecurity Certificate:https://grow.google/certificates/cybe...
Phrack Magazine:http://www.phrack.org/
Kali Linux:https://www.kali.org/get-kali/#kali-p...
Slingshot Linux:https://www.sans.org/tools/slingshot/
Books & Articles:
Gray Hat Hacking Series: https://amzn.to/3B1FeIK
Hacking: The Art of Exploitation: https://amzn.to/3Us9Uts
A Guide to Kernel Exploitation: https://amzn.to/3vfY8vu
Smashing the Stack for Fun and Profit – Old, but a classic:https://inst.eecs.berkeley.edu/~cs161...
Understanding Windows Shellcode – Old, but still good:https://www.hick.org/code/skape/paper...
Great list of exploitation paper links from Shellphish!:https://github.com/shellphish/how2hea...
// Stephen’s previous videos with David //
Free Exploit development training (beginner and advanced)
• How to make Millions $$$ hacking zero...
Buffer Overflow Hacking Tutorial (Bypass Passwords):
• Buffer Overflow Hacking Tutorial (Byp...
// David's SOCIAL //
Discord:
/ discord
X / Twitter:
/ davidbombal
Instagram:
/ davidbombal
LinkedIn:
/ davidbombal
Facebook:
/ davidbombal.co
TikTok:
/ davidbombal
// MY STUFF //
https://www.amazon.com/shop/davidbombal
// SPONSORS //
Interested in sponsoring my videos: sponsors@davidbombal.com
apple
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android
samsung
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1day
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Disclaimer: This video is for educational purposes only.
Please note that links listed may be affiliate links and provide me with a small percentage/kickback should you use them to purchase any of the items listed or recommended. Thank you for supporting me and this channel!
#android #ios #hacker