When chaos struck due to a bad software update from CrowdStrike last month, Windows computers started displaying the infamous Blue Screen of Death. As panic ensued and misinformation spread, Mac security researcher Patrick Wardle turned to crash reports to uncover the truth behind the crisis.
In a recent presentation at the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas, Wardle stressed the importance of utilizing crash reports as a valuable tool for understanding and identifying vulnerabilities in software.
By analyzing crash reports from his own devices, Wardle has uncovered numerous bugs, including issues in popular analysis tools and even Apple’s macOS. One notable discovery was a bug in iOS that caused apps to crash upon displaying the Taiwanese flag emoji, revealing unintended consequences of censorship efforts.
Wardle highlights that software developers should pay more attention to crash reports, as they can reveal critical insights that attackers may exploit. Intelligence agencies like the NSA have been known to gather information from crash logs, emphasizing the importance of monitoring and interpreting these reports.
As Wardle aptly puts it, “With crash reports, the truth is out there. Or, I guess, in there.”
To learn more about the impact and significance of crash reports, consider reading the article here.