Inside the Mind of an Exploit
C++ Techniques for Malware Development
In this talk, I will explore tips and techniques used in modern malware development from a C++ perspective, focusing on how attackers think rather than on building malicious tools. The session breaks down real-world design patterns used in offensive software such as modular architecture, memory management tricks, API abstraction, and execution flow control and explains why these techniques are effective. By analyzing these patterns at a high level, attendees will gain insight into how sophisticated malware leverages C++ features to achieve performance, stealth, and flexibility on modern systems.
This talk is particularly valuable for C++ developers, security engineers, and reverse engineers who want to better understand the offensive side in order to build stronger defenses. By understanding common attacker techniques, developers can write more resilient software, security professionals can improve detection and mitigation strategies, and reverse engineers can more quickly recognize malicious design choices in the wild. The content builds on my previous introductory talk and goes deeper into real world concepts, emphasizing learning, awareness, and defensive application rather than exploitation.
Niro Singh
I am a C++ software developer with over five years of experience building high-performance, low-latency systems across embedded, networking, and security-focused domains. I have worked extensively with modern C++ (C++14/17/20), multithreading, memory management, and distributed systems on both Linux and Windows platforms. My professional background includes designing real-time networked systems, optimizing core algorithms for performance and reliability, and developing cryptographic and security-critical components. My roles range from embedded software engineer to senior C++ developer and Scrum Master, combining deep technical expertise with strong ownership of system design and team delivery.
Beyond his industry work, I have a strong interest in cybersecurity, reverse engineering, and understanding software from an attacker’s perspective to improve defensive design. He is a Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH v12) and has explored topics such as malware internals, command-and-control architectures, and binary analysis using tools like IDA Pro and Ghidra. Currently, I am a Squad Lead AI Engineer at Turing, where I lead teams designing complex distributed programming challenges for large-scale LLM training. His interests lie at the intersection of low-level systems programming, security, and performance engineering, with a focus on practical, real-world learning.