Today, E Hacking News interviewed Aditya Gupta, one of the Famous Indian Security Researcher and co-founder of XY Security. He got listed in a number of Hall of fame pages for hunting bugs.
*. Hi, Please introduce yourself to EHN readers.
Hello I'm Aditya Gupta. I'm a security researcher and also the co-founder of a security firm named as XY Security. I also like hunting for bugs, whenever i get time, and have found serious vulnerabilities in websites such as Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Apple, Adobe, Paypal, Webkit, iOS (webkit and iOS patch yet to be released) and so on.
I've also developed the mobile exploitation framework, Android Framework for Exploitation (AFE) along with my partner Subho Halder. That, i think says much about me.
*.How did you stepped in this InfoSec field?
Well, i stepped into this field few years back when i was preparing for my IIT-JEE in Kota.
So, instead of attending my classes in Bansal Classes, Kota, I ended up having nightouts in cyber cafes there, and learning more and more about hacking.
Even when i got admission to my college KIIT, Bhubaneswar in Electronics, most of my time went into Exploit Writing, Programming and finding new ways to break security of various devices and platforms.
It just started as a curiosity, and for fun experience, but now it has turned into my full time profession.
And you know, you should always do what you love. Thats what i recommend to everyone.
*. cool, you are ECE student?!
Yep. Mainly because apart from hacking, i am also interested in Electronics. And it turns out, that if you combine hacking and electronics, its an amazing duo.
you get to learn about the internals of everything, and it becomes more interesting to find security holes.
Thats why, i have recently published a research paper on ARM Exploitation titled "A Short Guide to ARM Exploitation" along with my friend Gaurav Kumar
*. You have discovered security flaws in a number of high profile websites, what's the most memorable vulnerability you've discovered?
You know, the most interesting vulnerability i discovered was the Facebook one.
It allowed the hacker, to remotely and silently record videos from victim's webcam and post it to his timeline, without the victim even knowing about it.
And one more interesting one was, on Google +. It wasn't much severe, but it allowed the hackers to trick victims to update their status. That was when Google+ had just started. And I think, I may have saved it from a lot of spam campaign, which you used to see on other social networks like Facebook earlier.
*. what is favorite part of InfoSec , WebApp Pentesting or Mobile Hacking?
I would say that WebApp sec is surely the most interesting one, and you get a lot of satisfaction when you find high level bugs in a client's website or get bugs in a website offering bug bounty.
But my personal opinion would be Mobile Hacking. And i believe that mobile would be one of the most growing areas in security soon. And you know, thats why i started working on AFE, and i plan to make it really big in the coming future, one of the de-facto for mobile exploitation.
For that, will need a lot of contribution from the infosec field. That is one of the things i'm looking forward for.
I would also like to point out one of the upcoming features of AFE, if you don't mind, which will be included in the next update on March 5th, is exploitation of vulnerabilities in applications.
So, it would be like, you just specify the name of the application - say Facebook Android app, and it would show you, if there is any available exploit for it, and boom, the next second, you will be exploiting the vulnerability.
Also, one could find a lot of vulnerabilities in android apps using the framework, so that i believe is one of the reason the infosec community would be interested in it.
*. Really interesting one , is AFE open source ,where can i find futher details?
Its completely open source. You could find it at github here http://github.com/xysec/
Also, you could have a look at some details : http://afe-framework.com
*. Tell me something about your company XY Security
Its a company i've co-founded with two more of my friends : Subho Halder and Gopinath Danda.
We provide services like Penetration Testing, Application Audits and especially trainings.
We also present our research and give trainings at international security conferences such as BlackHat, Toorcon, OWASP AppSec, SysCan, Nullcon, Clubhack and so on.
We are based in Bhubaneswar right now and we have a small and amazing team with people who are really passionate about security.
*.Recently, you conducted Advanced Android and iOS Hands-on Exploitation Course at OWASP AppSec AsiaPac2013,How is your experience with AppSecAsiaPac2013 ?
Well yeah, i had a training over there. Its a nice conference, after all its OWASP AppSec.
They are more of a global conference, with international speakers, so i got in touch with other security researchers in person and its a nice experience overall.
Unlike my earlier trainings, this one was more of a hands-on one, for which we provided virtual labs and code samples for all Android, ARM and iOS.
Also, Jeju Island (the place where this conference was held) is an amazing place.
*.What's your research that makes you especially proud?
Well, I think i have contributed and researched more than anything else, on Mobile Security, especially Android.
That is one of things i'm really proud of have done.
But, you know one has to keep doing new stuffs, and trying out new things everyday.
That is how i keep myself busy all the time. But yea, its fun.
*.What is your advice for newbie who interested in infosec field?
All i would say them is to be really passionate and dedicated about whatever you are trying to achieve.
Keep learning something new everyday, through blogs, forums, articles and websites.
Don't settle for using tools to find vulnerabilities, unless you will learn manual hacking methods, you won't learn anything new.
A tool is really helpful, but only when you understand the functionality behind it.
And yeah, My best wishes to all the ones who are new in this field. Just work hard, and nothing is impossible.
One last thing, you'll surely get criticised at some point or the other in whatever you're doing, just don't give up, and prove yourself!
*.Students used to ask me how to become ethical hacker and get jobs related to information security, so can you give me some advice to them?
To become an ethical hacker, i would suggest you to learn about hacking and exploitation, and try it out on various vulnerable targets such as Webgoat, Mutillidae or Metasploitable.
And then one could always go for certifications such as OSCP, SANS and so on.
The only thing that matters if you apply for job, is how much knowledge you have. Also, choose a language of your choice, be it Python, C++ or C#, anything, and code in that language. It will help you a lot if you're looking for jobs.
Because,
Good Programmer + Good Hacker >> Good Hacker
*. It is nice to talk to you. What do you think about E Hacking News?
Well, its a great website and keeps me updated with all the security news all over the world.
Also, a media partner of most of the top conferences in the world, its surely one of the websites i would recommend to everyone.
Really a nice job.
*. EHN really thank you for spending your precious time. Is there anything else you like to add?
I think i told most of the things i wanted to, with my really long answers.
Thanks a lot for your time as well.