SpeedRunners: The Hackers of the Gaming World

Abstract

Speedrunning, the art of completing games with incredible speed, has evolved into more than a gaming feat - it's a showcase of ingenuity, creativity, and technical prowess. This talk delves into the fascinating world of speedrunners, drawing parallels between their methodologies and those of cybersecurity professionals, while highlighting the significant impact on game development and software security. We'll explore how speedrunners discover and exploit glitches in games through a combination of accident, experimentation, and deep code analysis - skills that mirror the vulnerability hunting process in software security.