Binary Analysis with Strace

A practical introduction to using strace to analyze and spy on Linux applications at the system call level.

This is my talk from Packet Hacking Village - DEFCON 29 (2021). It was live streamed, but unfortunately it was not saved and therefore not on the official channel. With permission from PHV, I have uploaded the video to my personal channel. The strace utility allows for deep insight into what an application is doing on a nix host. While the amount of data produced can be overwhelming, in this video I'll demonstrate how to filter, log and obtain relevant information for a wide variety of use cases around file analysis. From diagnosing a bisheaving application, to revealing a malware's secrets. This video will give a practical introduction in using strace to spy on *nix applications at the syscall level.