New Things May 2020 - Aug 2025

8/11/2025

Hello there!
It seems I update this site every 4-5 years. But I have been doing things in the meantime. Here are some interesting ones:

Analyzing Decompiled C++ Vtables and Objects in GCC Binaries (Hardwear.io USA 2023)
LOCKDOWN Lock In Amplifier (Hackaday Op Amp Challenge 2023 w/ Mark Omo)
Teaching New Tricks to an Old Micro: Breaking into [Renesas 78K0S/Kx1+] By Reading the Datasheet (Hardwear.io USA 2024 w/ Mark Omo) (video)
Tracing the Untraceable: Extracting Protected Flash with STM32-TraceRip (Hardwear.io USA 2025 w/ Mark Omo) (video)

And most recently, one I am quite proud of, a talk I gave at DEF CON 33 with Mark Omo just a few days ago:
"Cash, Drugs, and Guns: Why Your Safes Aren't Safe" (talking about security vulnerabilities in certain Securam ProLogic locks)
Slides - Video - Demo of CodeSnatch - Demo of ResetHeist - WIRED Article

I also helped out some guys who were making an air filter. But, nothing too interesting of mine to show on that.
Unfortunately most of the most interesting stuff I've done these last few years is pretty secretive. Maybe some day...

2 Comments

Mathew

9/12/2025 04:26:16 pm

Just saw the wired article about the securam locks. Im a Locksmith out of Phoenix and I would love to talk to you more about this topic. Is there a way to push a patch after code retrieval or should I just start putting nail polish on the debug ports? Great work!

James Rowley

10/18/2025 06:12:12 pm

Hi Mathew - sorry for the delay, apparently I don't get an email or anything when someone comments.

I'm not aware of any firmware update / patch that Securam has made available at this time.

You're not the first to suggest physically obstructing the debug port. It would probably slow an attacker down, but more and more advanced fixturing could be developed to get around just about any roadblock you put in. But, practically speaking it's probably helpful to try and block it.

New Things May 2020 - Aug 2025

Leave a Reply.

Author

Archives

Categories