Matt Suiche
Hacker · Founder of OnDB
Hello! My name is Matt Suiche. I am the founder of OnDB Inc., a data infrastructure startup for the agentic economy. I recently discussed cyberwar in the age of AI, Iran’s cyber capabilities, and how AI is reshaping hacking on Bloomberg’s Odd Lots and the National Security Lab podcast.
Previously, I co-founded CloudVolumes (acquired by VMware in 2014) and Comae Technologies (acquired by Magnet Forensics in 2022), where I later served as Head of Detection Engineering. I also founded the cybersecurity community project OPCDE.
My path into technology started in reverse engineering as a teenager, and has since spanned memory forensics, operating systems, virtualization, blockchain, and now AI infrastructure.
Latest
Over the past decade, several cyber incidents have shed light on how SWIFT operates between institutions. In 2017, I covered the vulnerabilities with PASSFREELY and the JEEPLEA SIGINT operations revealed in TheShadowBrokers leaks. Additionally, the 2016 Bangladesh Central Bank Heist, orchestrated by North Korea, offered valuable insights into the workings of international inter-bank SWIFT messaging.
Since then, financial messaging standards have undergone significant changes. Legacy standards like ISO 15022 and ISO 8583 are being phased out in favor of ISO 20022. At the same time, new competing standards have emerged, particularly from Russia’s SPFS, India’s Unified Payments Interface, and China’s CIPS. Additionally, Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) initiatives have been launched, and smart contract-based centralized stablecoins like USDC, USDT, and BUSD now include features like the ability to freeze transactions.
As the U.S. presidential elections draw closer, the topic of election security is gaining increasing attention. This issue took on added significance yesterday when the current U.S. Vice President and new Democratic candidate, Kamala Harris, tweeted the following:
Paper ballots are the smartest, safest way to ensure your vote is secure against attacks by foreign actors. Russia can’t hack a piece of paper like they can a computer. We introduced the Secure Elections Act to ensure our elections are safeguarded. We must be ready.
Already dubbed “The Largest IT, Outage In History, the CrowdStrike update from July 18, 2024, has affected at least 8.5 million Windows devices, according to Microsoft. Several of these devices are critical assets and run multiple essential services. For instance, I was unable to pay for my coffee in Dubai because the payment systems used by the coffee shop were down, and a friend lost her passport while stranded in Barcelona due to flight disruptions. The full impact and scope of the incident remain unknown, and it is likely be the main topic of discussion at DEFCON and BlackHat this summer and beyond.