Security Necromancy: Further Adventures in Mainframe Hacking
Phil Young and Chad Rikansrud resurrect mainframe security research, demonstrating buffer overflows, Network Job Entry exploitation, and releasing new penetration testing toolkits.
Summary
The Ubiquity and Invisibility of Mainframes
Despite common assumptions that mainframes are legacy relics of the past, the global financial system, travel infrastructure, healthcare, and critical government agencies rely heavily on IBM Big Iron.
Breaking Network Job Entry (NJE)
Phil Young (Soldier of Fortran) and Chad Rikansrud (Bigendian Smalls) detail systemic vulnerabilities in Network Job Entry (NJE) protocols, exploiting misplaced trust models across interconnected nodes.
Mainframe Exploitation and Memory Corruption
The speakers demonstrate practical memory corruption and buffer overflow exploitation on modern z/OS operating systems, busting the myth that mainframes are inherently impervious to binary attacks.
Releasing Open-Source Mainframe Pen Testing Tools
The authors unveil new reconnaissance and exploitation tools—including SET'n'3270, VTAM Walker, and updated Nmap NSE scripts—empowering researchers to audit enterprise mainframe security posture.
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