DEF CON 33 - Game Hacking 101 - Julian 'Julez' Dunning
Source: YouTube · DEFCONConference · published Oct 10, 2025 · 39:56
This talk explores game hacking as a way to learn security concepts 1:47, with Julian from offensive security sharing insights on game vulnerabilities 0:00.
Key Takeaways:
• Game logic exploits like "shadow boxing" in Baldur's Gate demonstrate how newer games aren't necessarily more secure 4:25
• Super Mario 64's backward speed exploit shows how missing negative value caps create security vulnerabilities 7:20
• Modding drives gaming innovation, with major titles like Counter-Strike and Dota originating as mods 12:40
• Memory hacking allows players to find and modify game values like health and position 16:01
• Anti-cheat systems create a kernel-level permissions battle between developers and hackers 22:24
The Game Hacking Village offers practical challenges to learn these security concepts through gaming 27:01.
Sources:
- 0:00 Introduction of Julian and his background
- 1:47 Purpose: game hacking for learning, not cheating
- 4:25 Baldur's Gate "shadow boxing" exploit example
- 7:20 Super Mario 64 backward speed exploit
- 12:40 Modding examples driving gaming innovation
- 16:01 Memory hacking concepts and tools
- 22:24 Anti-cheat systems and kernel level permissions
- [27
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First 800 characters of the transcript
All right. So, uh, going forward, uh, who am I? I'm Julian. Uh, I do a lot within the offensive security space. Uh, a lot of storied history doing that within consulting and everything. That's most of what my background has been. As part of that uh, I founded co-founded a open security uh, project and then turned company called Truffle Hog uh, or Truffle Security uh, as the company where we found a lot of open source secrets. So that's kind of like the the base of where I'm coming from. I also have done a lot of password cracking research. So just random things that I've been interested in from an offensive security space has kind of been like my go-to. Um I was I had the honor of being on the Forbes 30 under 30 back in, you know, the day I'm now officially a has been. So um and then I als…