Hector Martin (hacker)

Last updated
Hector Martin
Born
Héctor Martín Cantero

(1990-09-09) 9 September 1990 (age 34)
NationalitySpanish
Occupation(s)Security consultant, hacker
Years active2010–current
Known for Asahi Linux and game console hacking
Website marcan.st

Hector Martin Cantero (born September 9, 1990), also known as marcan, is a Spanish security hacker and current lead developer on the Asahi Linux project. [1] He is also known for hacking multiple PlayStation generations, the Wii and other devices. [2]

Contents

Biography

Education

Martin went to the American School of Bilbao (Spain), where he received his primary and secondary education. [3]

Career

Since 2011, he has been an official staff volunteer at Euskal Encounter, Gipuzkoa Encounter and Araba Encounter LAN parties. He is the coordinator of the Free Software area, where he organizes the "Hack It / Solve It" competition (a cybersecurity challenge known as capture the flag) and the "AI Contest" competition. [4] [ non-primary source needed ]

He has been part of fail0verflow, (formerly known as Team Twiizers) where he was responsible for reverse engineering and hacking the Wii. [5] He was the first to write an open source driver for the Microsoft Kinect [6] [7] by reverse engineering [8] for which he was widely credited. [9] [10] Sony sued him and others for hacking the PlayStation 3; the case was eventually settled out of court. [11] [12] In 2016, he ported Linux to the PlayStation 4 and demonstrated that at the 33rd Chaos Communication Congress by running Steam inside Linux. [13] He wrote the usbmuxd tool for synchronizing data from iPhones to Linux computers. [14]

In 2021, Martin founded the Asahi Linux project, an effort to port Linux to the new Apple silicon-powered Macs. He currently remains the lead developer on the project. [15] [16] While reverse engineering Apple's hardware, Martin discovered the "M1racles" security vulnerability on the Apple M1 processor. [17] [18]

See also

Related Research Articles

Darwin is the core Unix-like operating system of macOS, iOS, watchOS, tvOS, iPadOS, audioOS, visionOS, and bridgeOS. It previously existed as an independent open-source operating system, first released by Apple Inc. in 2000. It is composed of code derived from NeXTSTEP, FreeBSD, other BSD operating systems, Mach, and other free software projects' code, as well as code developed by Apple. Darwin's official mascot is Hexley the Platypus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dolphin (emulator)</span> Nintendo GameCube and Wii emulation software

Dolphin is a free and open-source video game console emulator of GameCube and Wii that runs on Windows, Linux, macOS, Android, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S.

OtherOS is a feature of early versions of the PlayStation 3 video game console, allowing user installed software, such as Linux or FreeBSD. The feature was removed since system firmware update 3.21, released on April 1, 2010.

kernel.org is the main distribution point of source code for the Linux kernel, which is the base of the Linux operating system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mac (computer)</span> Family of personal computers made by Apple

Mac is a family of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple since 1984. The name is short for Macintosh, a reference to a type of apple called McIntosh. The current product lineup includes the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro laptops, and the iMac, Mac Mini, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro desktops. Macs are sold with the macOS operating system, which is not licensed to other manufacturers and exclusively bundled with Mac computers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kinect</span> Motion-sensing input device for the Xbox 360 and Xbox One

Kinect is a discontinued line of motion sensing input devices produced by Microsoft and first released in 2010. The devices generally contain RGB cameras, and infrared projectors and detectors that map depth through either structured light or time of flight calculations, which can in turn be used to perform real-time gesture recognition and body skeletal detection, among other capabilities. They also contain microphones that can be used for speech recognition and voice control.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hacking of consumer electronics</span>

The hacking of consumer electronics is a common practice that users perform to customize and modify their devices beyond what is typically possible. This activity has a long history, dating from the days of early computer, programming, and electronics hobbyists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tizen</span> Linux-based mobile operating system

Tizen is a Linux-based mobile operating system backed by the Linux Foundation, developed and used primarily by Samsung Electronics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Espresso (processor)</span> 32-bit CPU for the Wii U

Espresso is the codename of the 32-bit central processing unit (CPU) used in Nintendo's Wii U video game console. It was designed by IBM, and was produced using a 45 nm silicon-on-insulator process. The Espresso chip resides together with a GPU from AMD on an MCM manufactured by Renesas. It was revealed at E3 2011 in June 2011 and released in November 2012.

The Java software platform provides a number of features designed for improving the security of Java applications. This includes enforcing runtime constraints through the use of the Java Virtual Machine (JVM), a security manager that sandboxes untrusted code from the rest of the operating system, and a suite of security APIs that Java developers can utilise. Despite this, criticism has been directed at the programming language, and Oracle, due to an increase in malicious programs that revealed security vulnerabilities in the JVM, which were subsequently not properly addressed by Oracle in a timely manner.

Turla or Uroboros is a Trojan package that is suspected by computer security researchers and Western intelligence officers to be the product of a Russian government agency of the same name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cemu</span> Emulator for Wii U software

Cemu is a free and open-source Wii U emulator, first released on October 13, 2015 for Microsoft Windows as a closed-source emulator developed by Exzap and Petergov. With the release of Cemu 2.1 on August 27 2024 it gained stable support for Linux and macOS. Though still under development, it is able to run the majority of games smoothly, assuming compatible hardware. The popularity of the emulator spiked with the release of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild in 2017 as Cemu successfully booted and ran the title within hours of its release.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KRACK</span> Attack on the Wi-Fi Protected Access protocol

KRACK is a replay attack on the Wi-Fi Protected Access protocol that secures Wi-Fi connections. It was discovered in 2016 by the Belgian researchers Mathy Vanhoef and Frank Piessens of the University of Leuven. Vanhoef's research group published details of the attack in October 2017. By repeatedly resetting the nonce transmitted in the third step of the WPA2 handshake, an attacker can gradually match encrypted packets seen before and learn the full keychain used to encrypt the traffic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apple M1</span> Series of systems-on-a-chip designed by Apple, launched 2020 to 2022

Apple M1 is a series of ARM-based system-on-a-chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc., launched 2020 to 2022. It is part of the Apple silicon series, as a central processing unit (CPU) and graphics processing unit (GPU) for its Mac desktops and notebooks, and the iPad Pro and iPad Air tablets. The M1 chip initiated Apple's third change to the instruction set architecture used by Macintosh computers, switching from Intel to Apple silicon fourteen years after they were switched from PowerPC to Intel, and twenty-six years after the transition from the original Motorola 68000 series to PowerPC. At the time of its introduction in 2020, Apple said that the M1 had "the world's fastest CPU core in low power silicon" and the world's best CPU performance per watt. Its successor, Apple M2, was announced on June 6, 2022, at Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC).

The Silver Sparrow computer virus is malware that runs on x86- and Apple M1-based Macintosh computers. Engineers at the cyber security firm Red Canary have detected two versions of the malware in January and February 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alyssa Rosenzweig</span> Software developer

Alyssa Rosenzweig is a software developer and software freedom activist known for her work on free software graphics drivers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asahi Linux</span> Linux distribution for Apple SoCs

Asahi Linux is a project that ports the Linux kernel and related software to Apple Silicon-powered Macs, started and led by Hector Martin. It does so by reverse-engineering the SoCs which lack documentation from Apple.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NetCast</span> Smart TV firmware

NetCast is a Smart TV platform based on Linux, built by LG Electronics that was preinstalled on their smart TVs between 2009 and 2014. LG has signed partnerships with various companies to provide services on the TV. It includes YouTube, AccuWeather, Orange Mobile, Maxdome, CinemaNow, Netflix and more apps that can be downloaded from the internet. LG has combined local and global services to provide the most relevant content. In 2011, LG added the LG Apps Store to the platform. It allowed users to install applications which were not previously included on their TVs. The platform was succeeded by WebOS.

The Linux kernel can run on a variety of devices made by Apple, including devices where the unlocking of the bootloader is not possible with an official procedure, such as iPhones and iPads.

References

  1. ↑ Sharwood, Simon (21 March 2022). "Asahi Linux reaches 'very early Alpha'". The Register. Retrieved 17 May 2022. Asahi Linux – the most prominent effort to create a Linux distribution for Apple's M1 silicon – has loosed what project lead Hector Martin has described as 'a very early alpha release.'
  2. ↑ Goodin, Dan (2020-05-12). "Thunderspy: What it is, why it's not scary, and what to do about it". Ars Technica . Archived from the original on 2021-02-26. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
  3. ↑ Chegue. "Entrevista a Hector Martín, el castreño que abrió las tripas del Xbox 360 Kinect". www.muchocastro.com (in European Spanish). Archived from the original on 2021-04-27. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
  4. ↑ "Euskal Encounter". marcan.st. Archived from the original on 2022-09-07. Retrieved 2022-10-13.
  5. ↑ "Wii Hacker: Leaked Source Code for Nintendo Gaming Systems Is 'Nonsense'". PCMag . Archived from the original on 2020-05-06. Retrieved 2021-04-24.
  6. ↑ Martín, Javier (2010-11-11). "'Me gusta trastear'". El País (in Spanish). ISSN   1134-6582. Archived from the original on 2021-04-27. Retrieved 2022-01-05.
  7. ↑ Giles, Jim (2010-12-04). "Inside the race to hack the Kinect". New Scientist. 208 (2789): 22–23. doi:10.1016/S0262-4079(10)62989-2. ISSN   0262-4079. Archived from the original on 2021-04-27. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
  8. ↑ "Un español consigue abrir a PC el código de Kinect en sólo dos horas". MeriStation (in Spanish). 2015-02-05. Archived from the original on 2021-04-27. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
  9. ↑ Hacking the Kinect. Jeff Kramer. Apress. 2012. p. 41. ISBN   978-1-4302-3868-3. OCLC   795985020. Archived from the original on 2021-08-01. Retrieved 2021-04-24.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  10. ↑ "Hacker wins $3,000 for first open source Microsoft Kinect driver - Update - The H Open: News and Features". H-online . Archived from the original on 2021-04-25. Retrieved 2021-04-24.
  11. ↑ Hachman, Mark (2011-01-12). "Sony Sues PS3 Hackers". PCMag India. Archived from the original on 2021-04-27. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
  12. ↑ "Sony/Hotz settlement details surface". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 2021-07-27. Retrieved 2021-07-27.
  13. ↑ "Konsolen-Hacking auf dem 33C3 - Hacker startet Steam auf Playstation 4". GameStar (in German). 2016-12-28. Archived from the original on 2021-04-27. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
  14. ↑ Chan, Rosalie. "'It honestly killed the project': Former Google employees speak out about a policy that lets the company claim ownership over code they write for outside projects". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 2020-02-17. Retrieved 2021-04-24.
  15. ↑ Vaughan-Nichols, Steven J. "What must be done to bring Linux to the Apple M1 chip". ZDNet . Archived from the original on 2021-01-27. Retrieved 2021-04-24.
  16. ↑ Salter, Jim (2021-04-09). "Apple M1 hardware support merged into Linux 5.13". Ars Technica . Archived from the original on 2021-04-27. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
  17. ↑ Mott, Nathaniel (2021-05-26). "Asahi Linux Dev Reveals 'M1RACLES' Flaw in Apple M1, Pokes Fun at Similar Flaws". Tom's Hardware . Archived from the original on 2021-08-01. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
  18. ↑ Goodin, Dan (2021-05-28). "Covert channel in Apple's M1 is mostly harmless, but it sure is interesting". Ars Technica . Archived from the original on 2021-07-27. Retrieved 2021-07-27.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.