Introduction
During the first week of April, I had the chance to go to the Magnet User Summit in Tennessee. During the trip I met many Champlain students that I wouldn’t have known if I hadn’t gone. I also had the chance to talk with upperclassmen within my major who told me about their experience at Champlain. They gave me pointers on opportunities that I should take advantage of while at Champlain.
During this conference, I learned about many topics within the digital forensics field. Specifically, I had the chance to learn more about how to leverage Python within PowerShell and how I could further my knowledge about PowerShell and Python. I was also able to learn about IoT and the artifacts that someone could find within devices that people use every day.
One of the sessions that stood out the most to me was the session called “IOC Easy as 1-2-3”. During this session, the presenters talked about the term IOC referring to the Indicator of Compromise. Attackers easily breached a leading company’s software because nobody looked in the file where it was located. There ended up being multiple files with funny names like “totallynotavirus” within a folder containing software from the company FireEye. The files clearly contained malware from attackers who had access to the system. The presenters also mentioned that the IT team at the business was compromised and was quite embarrassed about this happening. It goes to show that even a company like FireEye software may have vulnerabilities even though it’s meant to protect a computer system.
Conclusion
Overall, I believe that going to the Magnet User Summit was a great learning experience. I was able to learn about many new things in the field of digital forensics. I also was able to meet new people, both from Champlain and industry professionals. It was a great experience for me and I hope to be able to attend more in the future. I highly recommend MSU to anyone interested in going to a conference. Learn as much as you can and have fun!
Blog written by Champlain College’s Liam Barry.