Blockchain Security Series 16 - Matt Aereal (Co-founder @ The Red Guild)

Hosted by Pablo Sabbatella - pablito.eth (Blockchain Security Researcher, Opsek founder, SEAL member)

Topics discussed:

- 00:00 - Intro

- 01:40 - How you got into cybersecurity

- 09:26 - Artist side: Producing events and photography

- 12:52 - Parallelism between hacking, art and magic

- 16:31 - Ekoparty: Working for The biggest Latam Security Event

- 21:16 - Beginnings in blockchain and web3 security

- 27:07 - The Red Guild

- 40:48 - SEAL: What is the Security Alliance and how are you related

- 55:50 - The challenge of building web3 public goods

- 01:04:01 - Educating consumers vs building more secure systems

- 01:08:30 - OSINT and tools

- 01:12:50 - Cybersecurity state in Argentina

- 01:18:15 - Web2 exploits in web3

- 01:27:23 - Best security tips

- 01:33:53 - Kraken’s lawsuit against Certik

- 01:41:13 - Tooling in web3 research

- 01:44:34 - Read teams work and training

- 01:48:25 - Damn vulnerable DeFi

- 01:51:26 - Final thoughts

Summary:

This is the 16th episode of the Blockchain Security Series Podcast but the first one recorded live!

Pablito engages in an insightful conversation in Buenos Aires with Matt Aereal, co-founder of The Red Guild. Matt, a security generalist with a rich background in hacking and art, shares his journey into cybersecurity, starting from his early interests to his current endeavors in the blockchain and web3 space. Beginning with Matt recounting how he got into cybersecurity, highlighting the influences that shaped his career, the conversation delves into his artistic pursuits, including event production and photography, drawing parallels between hacking, art, and magic.

They touch upon the significance of Ekoparty, a renowned security conference in Latin America, and how it has fostered a community of like-minded professionals. Matt explains the origins and mission of The Red Guild, emphasizing its role in enhancing security within the web3 ecosystem. They will also explore his involvement with SEAL (Security Alliance), discussing how collaboration and shared knowledge are vital for advancing security measures and the importance of educating consumers versus the necessity of creating inherently secure systems.

In this episode you will be provided with a comprehensive exploration of the multifaceted world of cybersecurity, blending technical insights with philosophical reflections. It’s an enlightening listening for anyone interested in the nuances of blockchain security, the role of community in technological advancement, and the creative parallels that enrich the field.

Highlights:

- 29:19 - "We work as a non profit because we think that there’s space to complement the profit schemes that there are currently in the ecosystem and the way that we do so it’s being a group of security researchers with a lot of freedom to do it. So we take things really differently."

- 59:43 - "If you think security is expensive, try with an incident”.

- 01:05:26 - "There is a bigger problem that is that there is a huge gap between people who actually know about technology and people who don’t know about technology and the speed of the development of technology that has surpassed the capacity of some people to cope with it. And if the gap in technology itself is really really wide, then imagine in security."

- 01:07:10 - "Do you know how people have an accountant or a lawyer for themselves? I'am thinking security specialists for individuals"

- 01:44:34 - "At the beginning for people was always easier trying to break, because you know what to break, in comparison to defend, where you don’t have a scope of what to defend."

Takeaways:

- Having met Tincho Abbate they begin the journey of creating The Red Guild: an educational non-profit web3 organization.

• https://x.com/mattaereal
• https://x.com/theredguild
• https://blog.theredguild.org/
• https://www.damnvulnerabledefi.xyz/