Ben Hawkes

Ben Hawkes is a computer security expert and white hat hacker from New Zealand, currently employed by Google as manager of their Project Zero.[1] [2]

Hawkes has been credited with finding dozens of flaws in computer software, such as within Adobe Flash,[1] Microsoft Office,[1][3] Apple's iOS[4] and the Linux kernel.[5][6] His role was acknowledged, for instance, in an Adobe 2015 security bulletin, which announced updates that addressed critical vulnerabilities that allowed hackers to take control of the affected system.[7] In 2019, he reported two vulnerabilities that could allow hackers to tap iPhone microphones and spy on calls.[8]

Before Hawkes became part of Project Zero, he was first part of the Google team tasked with the security of Google's product launches.[9] Hawkes regularly publishes research on his works, particularly on vulnerability analysis and software exploitation such as novel heap exploitation techniques on Windows.[9]

References
  1. Greenberg, Andy (15 July 2014). "Meet 'Project Zero,' Google's Secret Team of Bug-Hunting Hackers". Wired.com. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
  2. "Ben Hawkes". usenix.org. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  3. Nichols, Shaun (9 June 2015). "It's 2015 and hackers can hijack your Windows PC if you watch a web video". The Register. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  4. Bock, Ken. "Jailbreak Exploit for iOS 10.1.1 to be Released Next Week". The Country Caller. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  5. Nestor, Marius. "Canonical Patches Multiple Kernel Vulnerabilities in All Supported Ubuntu OSes". softpedia. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  6. Nestor, Marius. "Canonical Patches Multiple OpenSSH Vulnerabilities in Supported Ubuntu OSes". softpedia. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  7. "Adobe Security Bulletin". helpx.adobe.com. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  8. Gatlan, Sergiu (8 February 2019). "Apple Patched Two Actively Exploited Zero-Days in iOS 12.1.4". BleepingComputer. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  9. "Ben Hawkes | USENIX". www.usenix.org. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
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