
New Video from @DEFCONConference Highlights Malware Village Initiatives
In this video, Lena Yu, CEO of World Cyber Health and founder of Mau Village, presents the activities and goals of Malware Village, a non-profit Canadian initiative that will be present at Defcon and ten other conferences around the world this year. Malware Village aims to educate and support both newcomers and experienced professionals in the field of malware analysis. Lena Yu emphasizes the importance of this mission due to the exponential growth in the volume and variety of malware, leading to a global shortage of qualified individuals to perform this crucial protective role. 2025 marks the inaugural year of Malware Village as a full-fledged village at Defcon, and the team is excited to present their contributions to the community. Among the planned activities, Malware Village will offer 24 conferences led by exceptional speakers, as well as four half-day workshops to launch your career in practical malware analysis for Windows and Mac, binary exploitation techniques, and even a workshop on using role-playing to make cybersecurity education fun. Four new competitions will also be introduced at Defcon. The first is Mark 1, a malware analysis report contest where participants will analyze real malware and write a storybook. Next is Bombay, the malware and EDR (Endpoint Detection and Response) bypass battle, where malware and EDR will face off. Emac is the Yara rule accuracy contest for detecting malware samples, and Yip Havoc is an LLM hacking competition where participants will respond to prompts at the World Cyber Health help line for all victims of cybercrime. Malware Village will also feature its mascots, the Mods, also known as malware monsters, to make malware analysis education accessible and fun for everyone. Game badges, trading cards, and other promotional items will be available, along with coloring books so even children can enjoy Malware Village. The World Cyber Health team looks forward to welcoming everyone to Malware Village at Defcon 33 in Las Vegas.