Behind the Binary by Google Cloud Security

"I thought that we would never hear about these people after they were named. But what was a surprise is that they actually hired a lawyer in New York... and they were like, 'Yeah, we're going to be taking part in this trial."
In this episode, we are joined by Pierre-Marc Bureau from Google’s Threat Intelligence Group (GTIG) to unpack the unprecedented takedown of the Glupteba botnet. Active since 2011, Glupteba infected roughly 1 million Windows devices before Google launched a coordinated technical and legal strike. Pierre-Marc takes us behind the scenes of an investigation that evolved from reverse engineering binaries to a surreal showdown in a New York civil court.
We break down how a single hardcoded string unraveled a massive criminal enterprise, the mechanics of using the Bitcoin blockchain for resilient command and control, and the bizarre moment when Russian cybercriminals actually hired a US lawyer to fight back.
THE SESSION:
The Blockchain Fallback: How Glupteba operators hid AES-encrypted blobs inside Bitcoin transactions, creating an un-takable backup C2 infrastructure if their primary domains went down.
The Fatal OpSec Flaw: How one mistake—leaving the string get.voltronwork.com in a Go module—allowed Google to connect the botnet to Russian developer shops and Delaware shell companies.
The Corporate Cyber-Cartel: Why the group operated like a legitimate tech startup, openly selling end-to-end "services" like proxy networks and compromised Google and Facebook accounts on the open web.
The Extortion Twist: The surreal courtroom drama where the malware operators tried to extort Google for $1 million per defendant in exchange for private keys—a move that ended with the judge sanctioning their lawyer for $250,000.
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In this episode, we are joined by Robert Wallace, Joseph Dobson, and Blas Kajusner to dissect the new "Hybrid Heist." The panel argues that the era of isolated crypto-theft is over; sophisticated actors are now targeting the Web2 layer—the frontends, the developer workstations, and the cloud infrastructure—to bypass the immutability of the chain itself.
We also break down "Ether Hiding," a technique where attackers store malware payloads directly on the blockchain to create an unstoppable Command & Control (C2) infrastructure that cannot be taken down by traditional authorities.
THE SESSION:
Immutable C2 (Ether Hiding): How threat actors are updating smart contract state variables to serve second-stage malware payloads, effectively turning the blockchain into a "dead drop resolver" that ignores domain blocks and takedown requests.
The Hybrid Attack Surface: Why the massive Bybit heist wasn't a failure of cryptography, but a Web2 frontend attack on the "Safe Wallet" interface that tricked users into signing transactions they couldn't see.
The "OpSec" Crisis: Why smart contract developers are the new "Domain Admins," and how simple phishing campaigns against personal devices are leading to nine-figure losses.
The "Choke Point" Vulnerability: Why the decentralized ecosystem is still entirely dependent on centralized on-ramps and off-ramps, and how this dependency creates a "kill chain" that defenders can disrupt.
Governance Attacks: The shift from exploiting code to exploiting consensus—how attackers are buying enough tokens to legally vote themselves the contents of a project's treasury.
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Research Hub: Threat research, training events and news:
https://cloud.google.com/security/flare
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"Skilled adversaries have a 100% success rate against all of the defenses that we know about."
In this episode, Kevin Harris defends that claim. We move past the standard "AI Safety" talking points to distinguish between the two attack vectors confusing the industry: Prompt Injection (an application-layer failure) vs. Jailbreaking ("gaslighting" the model via context shifting).
Kevin argues that we haven't actually invented AI yet—we've just built a mirror that reflects our own intelligence (and psychosis) back at us. We also dissect the new model context protocol (MCP) and why giving "discretion" to agents that cannot think is potentially repeating the security mistakes of Web 2.0.
THE SESSION:
The "Pirate" Jailbreak: Why telling a model to be a pirate isn't just a party trick—it's a method of shifting the context window to bypass refusal patterns.
The 100% Failure Rate: Why current defenses are only speed bumps for skilled adversaries, and why you are attacking the application, not the model.
"There Is No AI": Kevin’s theory on why LLMs are just "predictive text made 3 orders of magnitude better" and the danger of "AI-induced psychosis".
The Agentic Threat (MCP): A deep dive into the model context protocol. Why client-side authorization is the new "Browser Security" battleground, and why we are handing "table saws" to users who don't know how to use them.
The Fix: Why "Attention Functions" are the key to understanding (and securing) the future of these models.
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Research Hub: Threat research, training events and news:
https://cloud.google.com/security/flare
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In this episode, Dhillon Kannabhiran shares the gritty origin story of Hack in the Box (HITB), detailing how he dug a $20k financial hole to launch the first event in Malaysia before building it into a global brand.
The conversation moves beyond conferences to explore the cutting edge of technology and creativity. Dhillon explains why "agentic" systems (like Xbow) signal the end of hand-built exploits and discusses the unique challenges of securing Web3 smart contracts. We also dive into the intersection of math and music, how AI tools like Suno are changing art, and why the "hacker ethos" applies to everything from bug bounties to content creation.
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Join the Community
Research Hub: Threat research, training events and news:
https://cloud.google.com/security/flare
The FLARE Insider: Get community updates and announcements. To subscribe, email [email protected]
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Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

In this episode, we get a unique look at the history of Windows through the eyes of one of its leading experts, Pavel Yosifovich. We delve into his fascinating origin story, including the "fluke" that led him to become the author of the legendary Windows Internals series, and why he describes himself as a developer who "hates security."
The conversation explores the most significant foundational changes in Windows kernel design, specifically the architectural shift toward Virtualization-Based Security (VBS) and the long-term strategy behind the "Secure Kernel." We discuss the ever-evolving landscape of EDRs, the reality of kernel-level threats, and the impact AI and memory-safe languages like Rust will have on future development. This episode offers valuable insights for reverse engineers and developers interested in the big-picture trends that have shaped—and will continue to shape—the world of operating system design.
Get the latest from FLARE's community efforts: Email [email protected] to join our mailing list for important announcements. Your information will not be shared and is used only for this purpose.
Join the Community
Research Hub: Threat research, training events and news:
https://cloud.google.com/security/flare
The FLARE Insider: Get community updates and announcements. To subscribe, email [email protected]
FOLLOW THE SHOW:
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube