April 2023– More ChatGPT Shenanigans

In our last meeting we had ChatGPT do some things that it wasn’t really designed to do.  In our next meeting we are going to expand on this by looking at the malware script that ChatGPT wrote and see what it really does.  Ben Eldritch has volunteered to dissect the written script and share his findings with us. Did ChatGPT really write malware?  Is ChatGPT able to create deployable badness?  Let’s find out together.

We will be meeting at Virginia Western Community College on April 13th in the Hall Family Business/Science Building.   Take the stairs to the left and go to the second floor and go to CyberSecurity lab in room M302.  

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March 2023 – Let’s break AI

We have something special planned for the month of March.  RISE is going out on the town!  This month we will are going to meetup at Twisted Track to hang out.  I am attempting to get us a conference room with the hope of bringing up ChatGPT and seeing what insightful thoughts this new AI has on IT Security, cyber risk and other areas of interest.  Perhaps we may even play stump the chump or in this case stump the AI. 

Looking forward to seeing you all there.

Location:

Twisted Track Brewpub
523 Shenandoah Ave NW
Roanoke, VA 24016

Date and Time:

March 9th, 2023 @5:30pm

Feb 2023 – Byte-by-Byte – A Beginners Look into Binary Analysis

Ever wonder how computers can interpret programs? Are you interested in looking at random bytes on a screen and reading them like the Matrix? Do you always get stumped on “easy” reverse engineering CTF challenges? Then join us for a night of learning binary analysis! 

This talk will focus on looking at binaries/executables for interesting strings, compiler information, linked DLLs with dependencies, and even a basic overview of Assembly – the lowest level language we can program in! This discussion will also include commonly used tools, methods, and even utilizing AI to interpret a binary! Following the talk, we will statically analyze a simple piece of custom malware and be able to decipher just what devious tasks it may be doing! Laptops/personal machines recommended but not required (use whatever OS you want!)

BIO:

Ben Eldritch, Vulnerability Assessment Analyst for Raytheon Technologies

Current Certs: GICSP, OSCP, Pentest+, CySA+

Ben holds a Bachelor’s degree in Cybersecurity and Information Assurance from WGU and an associates in Engineering from DMACC. His interest in security started when he began tinkering with his GameBoy and messing with in-memory data via a GameShark. From there, he started writing prankware for his friends and eventually learned the ins and outs of penetration testing. When not breaking into things (with permission of course!), Ben enjoys taking long mountain hikes and observing all the different kinds of creatures of the world. 

Date & Time:

February 9th @ 5:30pm

Location

The RAMP Building
709 S. Jefferson Street Roanoke,
VA 24016

Parking and entrance are in the rear of the building

Jan 2023 – Hack the Box: “We’ll Do It LIVE!”

Wanting to take a step into the mind of a Penetration Tester? Or are you already a seasoned hacker, wanting to flex your muscles as part of a group experiment? Either way, we would love to have you join us at ECPI in Roanoke on Jan 12th at5:30pm for a guided group participation through one of the many excellent machines on the HackTheBox learning platform.

HackTheBox describes itself as “a massive hacking playground, and infosec community of over 1.3m platform members who learn, hack, play, exchange ideas and methodologies”, and it is a great place for learning and practicing alike. In this session, speaker Regen Peterson will be walking us through this platform step-by-step. This begins with creating an account and learning how to access and interact with the platform. Following this, we will conduct a group session in which we will use real-world methodologies to perform reconnaissance, enumerate and exploit vulnerabilities, and ultimately escalate privileges to gain administrator access to a vulnerable machine. And don’t worry if you are new to the offensive side of security, as inexperienced hackers will be allowed to offer their suggestions and ideas before the more experienced. 

We hope you will join us in this session of “HackTheBox: We’ll Do It LIVE!”, as we expect that it will be an extremely engaging meeting where group participation will be crucial to solving the puzzles presented. Unfortunately, due to the nature of the presentation, we will not be able to live-stream or record this meeting, but we hope to see you in person for an awesome group-learning session with HackTheBox.

BIO:

Regen Peterson, Offensive Security Consultant/Penetration Tester from Roanoke, Virginia. 

OSCP/PNPT/eJPT/+

Regen graduated from Patrick Henry High School, afterwards attending Virginia Western Community College for Computer Science Engineering. After spending some time in I.T., as well as different fields such as banking management, he developed a deep love and competitive spirit for hands-on ethical hacking learning platforms such as HackTheBox and TryHackMe. After several months of engagement with these platforms, Regen began acquiring various industry certifications and ultimately found a position in the field of Penetration Testing. Outside of `hacking`, Regen is an avid gamer, builds gaming PCs, performs music as a singer/songwriter, and spends time with his wife and three children.

Location:
ECPI Roanoke
5234 Airport Rd NW #200
Roanoke, VA 24012

Date and Time:
January 12th @ 5:30pm

Dec 2022 – Social Event At Big Lick Brewing

Our December RISE meeting will be a social event December 8th at Big Lick Brewery in downtown Roanoke starting at 5:30pm.   We want to take this opportunity to kick back, talk and share ideas about upcoming events and provide feedback on past events.  RISE can’t happen without you, so we look forward to hearing your thoughts and ideas as we get ready for 2023.   We have a table reserved at Big Lick starting at 5:15pm with a seat ready for you so don’t miss out. 

Note: RISE will not be providing beverages or food for this event (I mean common man, I can’t pay for everyone), but I am currently searching for a sponsor that might be able to assist so stay tuned. 

We look forward to seeing you all in person on Dec. 8th at Big Lick Brewery

Meeting Info:

December 8th, 5:30pm

Big Lick Brewery

409 Salem Ave SW,

Roanoke, VA 24016

BSides Roanoke 2023

BSides Roanoke logo

It’s finally here! BSides Roanoke is live and we are ready bring you the best and most exciting security talks in the Roanoke Valley and beyond. We are actively working to bring you the talks that you want and are relevant to you. More content is being added daily so please be patient as we continue to work and mold this event to be the best one yet.

BSides Roanoke 2023 will be held at Virginia Western Community College on May 20, 2023 in the Whitman Theater located in the Hall Family Business/Science Building.

Get your BSides Roanoke 2023 tickets now!

Click Here For Tickets

Want to learn more about BSides Roanoke go to BSidesRoa.org

Nov 2022 – Penetration Testing Certifications: Acronym Aerobics

Penetration Testing Certifications: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
aka: Acronym Acrobatics

Wanting a career pivot or to level up your skill set can be intimating. The seemingly endless offensive security certifications out there today can be overwhelming.  How do you know which to choose?  Join RISE Thursday, Nov 10th with Ken Nevers at ECPI as this self proclaimed cert junky will share his honest opinions on which certs to go for and which to avoid along your journey.”

Bio:

Ken Nevers, Principle Security Consultant

Current Certifications: OSEP, OSCP, CRTO, CRTE, CRTP, PAWASP

Ken holds an Associate degree in Computer and Information Science with a major in Cyber and Network Security from ECPI University in addition to several red teaming and penetration testing certifications. In his free time, Ken co-organizes BSides Roanoke, co-leads the Roanoke Information Security Exchange, is a member of the Roanoke Linux Users Group, and volunteered on the security teams for HackRedCon and DerbyCon, plays guitar and tells dad jokes.

Hall Of Fames (security acknowledgements):

Oracle, Rackspace, Dell, TripAdvisor

Location

ECPI Roanoke
5234 Airport Rd NW #200
Roanoke, VA 24012

Date and Time

November 10th
5:30pm

Sept 2022- RISE/RBTC Capture the Flag

The RBTC Capture the Flag is here, and we are ready.   For those that aren’t aware we are doing something a little different for the month of September.  Instead of meeting on the second Thursday of the month we are meeting on the second Wednesday of the month (Sept. 14th) in Blacksburg, VA at the VTCRC Training & Event Center at 1691 Innovation Drive, #1025, Blacksburg, VA for a Capture the Flag (CTF) event.  This will be a great opportunity for both new and veteran IT Security focused individuals.  I encourage everyone that can make it to attend.  This is an open event and those that are not familiar with a CTF should not feel intimidated.  There will be several folks available for consultation and assistance.  For those that are familiar with CTF’s we have you covered as well.  We have a great selection of prizes such as Bash Bunnies, Flipper Zeros and Raspberry Pi’s. 

Lastly, there will be pizza and beverages provided so come hungry and learn some new skills.

The Deets:

  • This is a bring your own laptop and power supply event. You must bring a laptop to participate.
  • The Virginia Cyber Range has challenge ready VM’s available for use but you need a laptop to access them.
  • If you choose to use your own laptop for the challenges know that a KALI like image works best.

CTF registration details will be sent in a email to the RISE email distribution list. Please subscribe to the distribution list if you are already a member.

Time and Location Information:

Sept 14th @ 5:30pm

VTCRC Training & Event Center

1691 Innovation Drive, #1025,

Blacksburg, VA.

Aug 2022 – Capture The Flag

Its here!  The August CTF is finally here.  What is a CTF?  Well, I’m so glad you asked.  A CTF or Capture the Flag is kind of a computer security competition where you challenge yourself to get past hacking exercises to “capture a flag”.  This will be an interactive opportunity open to ANYONE!  Whether you’re new to IT Security and wanna learn more or a seasoned Pentester who wants to win it all, this event is for you.  If you’re new to IT Security and are concerned about what lies ahead don’t fret, we will have several veteran IT Security professionals available for consultation if you need assistance.  So come on out and let’s have some fun and learn a little while we’re at it. 

We understand that sometimes things don’t work out and you can’t make it in person so we are offering this as a virtual event as well.  The CTF will be publicly available via the web, however you must be at the event location to win prizes. 

  • CTF provided by our friends at The Virginia Cyber Range
  • Food, beverages, and prizes provided by our friends at GuidePoint Security

The Deets:

  1. This is a bring your own laptop and power supply event. You must bring a laptop to participate.
  2. The Virginia Cyber Range has challenge ready VM’s available for use.
  3. If you choose to use your own laptop for the challenges know that a KALI like image works best.
  4. Please register for the CTF before Aug 11th.
    1. Registration opens at 4pm Friday Aug 5th, 2022
    2. Registration requires a Microsoft or Google ID
    3. Link to registration will be sent in an email
      • Please send a message to info@roanokeinfosec.com if you would like to be added to the distribution list and get the link to the CTF

Date / Time / Location

Aug 11th at 5:30pm at the Roanoke Co-Lab

1327 Grandin Rd SW, Roanoke, VA 24015

(Turn onto Westover Ave SW for parking)

July 2022 – OSINT Side Channels

I know July has likely been a busy month for many of you, but you might want to carve out some time for our next meeting.  This will be an interesting topic that intrigues of most all of us.   On July 14th Ben Eldritch will be giving us his talk on OSINT Side Channels.  We will be meeting at Twisted Track in downtown Roanoke at 5:30pm.  See below for more information.  Also, if you missed the last book exchange feel free to bring some books that you want to trade or donate.   

Of course, we understand that not everyone can make it in person, we will attempt to provide a zoom link in a follow up email closer to the meeting date.

Hope to see ya there in person or virtually.

Discussion Topic:

OSINT Side Channels

  • Basic overview of OSINT and how it can be used for both good and bad
  • How posts on social media provide more information about you than you think
  • What your “Foodstagrams” tell me about you
  • The power of license plates
  • Why everyone knows where you live
  • Safeguards to being owned by anyone

Speaker:

Ben Eldritch

A security researcher who likes to break things and program others. Always learning and adapting, I love to delve deep into applications to see what makes them tick. Experience with red and blue teaming has helped me learn effective offense and essential defense.

Date and Time:

July 14th @ 5:30pm

Location:

Twisted Track BrewPub

523 Shenandoah Ave NW

Roanoke, VA 24016