Re: https://firmwaresecurity.com/2018/07/27/required-skills-of-a-nation-state-attacker-defender/ here’s a similar post:
– Conducting initial analysis of traditional and non-traditional systems in support of HQ US Cyber Command.
– Conducting technical exploitation and examination of high-priority digital media to include reverse-engineering, failure analysis, and vulnerability analysis of hardware to identify exploitation opportunities.
– Modifying hardware to either enable forensic analysis of the media or to change the functionality of the hardware for other purposes.
– Performing inspection, imaging, decapsulation, deprocessing, and other activities related to hardware reverse-engineering and exploitation in a state-of-the-art microelectronics exploitation laboratory.
– Enhancing and maintaining frameworks, processes, design patterns, techniques, tools, and standards for conducting hardware exploitation of digital media.
– Keeping abreast of and reporting on scientific, engineering, and operational advances in hardware exploitation.
– Performing full-scope forensic examinations from the hardware aspect of media.
– Using reverse engineering tools and methods to determine vulnerabilities of the device for technical exploitation purposes.
– Determining how a device boots/initializes, and obtaining a binary that can be used for reverse-engineering.
– Identifying the function that responds to network connections requests; understanding internal communications mechanisms; outlining the general structure of the system software; and determining how system state is altered/saved.
– Leading teams and participating in the analysis of embedded platform firmware and operating systems to understand security vulnerabilities associated with various platform communication links.
– Creating and executing test plans to ensure all requirements of developed capabilities are fully- satisfied.
– Using knowledge gained through the application of reverse-engineering and other research techniques, design and develop low-level C and assembly applications for embedded ARM platforms that interface directly with platform hardware.
– Assembly language and C/C++ programming experience; solid understanding of programming language and operating system concepts.
– Reverse- engineering skills for embedded systems with proprietary operating systems
– Experience examining a hardware platform to understand the software and hardware interaction of embedded systems.
– Experience applying knowledge of C and Assembler software development for embedded platforms that run commercial and/or custom operating systems.
– Experience with embedded system design, communication with peripheral devices at the hardware level, and reverse- engineering of system software.
– Experience scripting with the following Languages: shell, Perl, Python or the like.
– Experience with the following in Microprocessors/Architectures: ARM, MIPS, RISC, PowerPC, XScale, StrongARM, x86.
– Familiarity with microprocessor instruction sets is highly-desired.
– Experience with the following Operating Systems: VxWorks, Integrity, Embedded Linux, JunOS, Linux, Unix, Windows Embedded.
– Experience with RTOS is highly-desired.
– Experience with the following IDEs: Tornado, Workbench, VxSim, MULTI, TimeMachine, TraceEdge.
– Experience with the following Hardware Tools and Debuggers: Green Hills, Probe, SuperTrace Probe, Slingshot, spectrum analyzer, logic analyzer, JTAG, Agilent Technologies equipment.
– Experience with the following Software Tools and Debuggers: Wireshark, IDA Pro, OIlyDbg, pcap, gdb, make, hex editor.
Firmware Security 