Speaker

Veronica Schmitt, Lead Forensic Analyst, DFIR Labs

Veronica Schmitt

Lead Forensic Analyst, DFIR Labs

Veronica Schmitt's forensic career began in 2008. She is considered a leading authority in the field of digital forensics and incident response by her peers, both in South Africa and Internationally. As a Lead Forensic Analyst within DFIRLABS, she is responsible for digital forensics and incident response-related case work on complex cases. She is also responsible for research and development for new techniques and approaches within the organisation. Prior to this she was the Regional head of the Free State Cyber Forensic Laboratory of the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), South Africa's national public sector anti-corruption agency.

Veronica holds a Diploma in Criminal Justice and Forensic Investigation from the University of Johannesburg. Veronica decided to broaden her horizon and is pursuing her Master's in science at Rhodes University in Information Security with specialisation in the forensic analysis of malware. Veronica has also received training overseas in cybercrime investigation and digital forensics from the US Department of Homeland Security, the International Association of Computer Investigative Specialists, and the SANS Institute.

Veronica is an active researcher and member of the infosec community and is a regular conference speaker. She also has spoken extensively internationally, including at the SANS DFIR Summit, and DEFCON. She also is a DEFCON Goon which speaks to her involvement in the community.

She has recently started started a group DC2751 which focuses around the development of the youth into Information Security and Forensics focusing on the age groups 8-12. Her particular interests include research into security vulnerabilities in medical devices forming part of the Internet of Things and how these could be exploited by malicious attackers, and what types of forensic artefacts could be identified from any attacks. She is extremely passionate about protecting people whose lives depend on these medical devices, and her passion saw her becoming a member of the security research group, I am the Cavalry, where she has been asked to head up their medical research focus area.

She is an Associate Member of the Institute of Information Technology of Professionals of South Africa, the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. Veronica has contributed to several publications, including the ISC2 CCFP: Certified Computer Forensic Practitioner.

Veronica Schmitt will be speaking on the following topic:

11:30
Total Wipe Out: What could happen if cyber criminals successfully attacked a country's critical infrastructure systems?

Cyber warfare can be described as digital attacks which are aimed against a country or nation in order to cause disruption to the computer systems which are associated with critical infrastructure. The aim of a cyber war like this would be to create the most significant damage, potential death, destruction and/or total anarchy. The term "BlackOut" is used in hacker circles to refer to a plan to cause a total blackout within a country or nation of all critical infrastructure. With the ever-increasing interconnectivity of a country's critical infrastructure, it's possible that a country could experience BlackOut and be crippled within a month. This presentation will be in the format of a reenactment of a theoretical BlackOut plan on a fictional country, "Barony of Mejis", by using information and tooling that is freely available on the Internet. The presentation will be given around a set timeline indicating a high-level approach to a BlackOut plan. All targets will be applicable in real life, and based on realistic systems, but will be fictionalised.

  • Understanding the Internet of "hackable" Things
  • Understanding how critical infrastructure is connected to the Internet
  • Understanding the vulnerabilities within these systems
  • Insights into a BlackOut plan and getting into the mind of cyber war criminals
  • Using examples of real-world hacks which have taken place

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