Chris Valasek

Chris Valasek
Born (1982-06-02) June 2, 1982
Alma materUniversity of Pittsburgh
Known forSummercon Organizer, Automotive Hacking
Scientific career
FieldsComputer Science

Chris Valasek is a computer security researcher with Cruise Automation,[1] a self-driving car startup owned by GM, and most recently known for his work in automotive security research.[2]

Career

Prior to his current employment, he worked for:

Education

Valasek holds a Bachelors in Computer Science from University of Pittsburgh. He currently lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Security Research

Microsoft Windows

Valasek has publicly demonstrated many security vulnerabilities, with particular focus on Microsoft Windows heap exploitation.

His 2009 presentation "Practical Windows XP/2003 Heap Exploitation"[3] at Black Hat presented a novel approach to gaining elevated access in a Windows environment.

Later research, such as his 2010 paper "Understanding the Low Fragmentation Heap: From Allocation to Exploitation"[4] demonstrated ways to circumvent vendor mitigations to the approaches outlined in his prior work.

Automotive Security

In 2013, he and Charlie Miller demonstrating a number of attack vectors against ECUs in automotive control networks.[5] Together with Miller, they have produced a survey of remote attack surfaces in then-current model year automobiles, an important first step in establishing the state of the art of automotive security and safety research.[6][7]

Summercon

Chris has been involved with the conference as part of the Summercon planning committee since 2003.[8] He is currently listed as Chairman Emeritus[9] on the Summercon Organizer page.

References

  1. ^ Weise, Elizabeth. "GM's self-driving car unit Cruise hires famous car hackers". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2025-03-26. Charlie and Chris are getting the band back together.
  2. ^ "Uber hires two security researchers to improve car technology". [Reuters]. August 28, 2015.
  3. ^ McDonald, John; Valasek, Chris (2009-07-25). "Practical Windows XP/2003 Heap Exploitation" (PDF). Black Hat Briefings: 84. Retrieved 2017-03-01 – via Black Hat Briefings.
  4. ^ Valasek, Chris (2010-07-25). "Understanding the Low Fragmentation Heap" (PDF). Illmatics.com: 86. Retrieved 2017-03-01 – via Black Hat Briefings.
  5. ^ Andy Greenberg (2013-07-24). "Hackers Reveal Nasty New Car Attacks--With Me Behind The Wheel (Video)". Forbes.
  6. ^ Miller, Charlie; Valasek, Chris. "A Survey of Remote Automotive Attack Surfaces" (PDF). Black Hat USA 2014: 92. Retrieved 2017-03-01 – via Black Hat Briefings.
  7. ^ Andy Greenberg (2014-08-06). "How Hackable Is Your Car? Consult This Handy Chart". Wired.
  8. ^ ".:: Phrack Magazine ::". phrack.org. Retrieved 2025-04-06. SummerCon enjoyed a stand in Pittsburgh for two years where Redpantz became a member of the planning committee and began to emcee.
  9. ^ "ORGANIZERS – Summercon". www.summercon.org. Retrieved 2025-04-06. Chris Valasek Chairman Emeritus