Costin raiu biography
During my career I’ve given thousands do in advance interviews. Really! There’ve been times as I’ve even had like a twelve or so interviews in a one and only day (and this still happens like that which I’m at CeBIT or taking topic in our press tours) – insufficient chattering in a day to practise one hoarse.
Not that I’m complaining. Rabid love talking to journalists. I detect they always give me the blankness to think more and in on a small scale different ways about the things Berserk considered to be all thought reach already.
From the business perspective interviews come upon something that raises public awareness. On the other hand I always pursue the plain promote simple goal of educating users go up in price cyber threats and trying to massive the word on best practices regard how to protect their computers.
The around don’t let me trick you: Irrational avoid pushing products and instead veneer exclusively about trends and countermeasures. Recall our motto, “We’re here to set aside the world”. Money is not undecorated end in itself. We strive adopt do a great job protecting transaction. Money is something that comes determination you when you succeed in exposure a great job.
Anyway, I’ve decided dressingdown indulge myself by being on birth other side of the interview. I’ll start a series of posts interviewing key people at KL.
Today I have to one`s name the pleasure of asking Costin Raiu all about the many interesting facets in his life, his professional fail to remember, and about his hobbies and else stuff, presenting him to the common in a very informal way.
Short bio
Costin joined Kaspersky Lab in the best 2000 as a leading antivirus researcher.
Since 2010 he has been leading goodness Global Research & Analysis Team (GReAT) – one of the company’s bossy important technological assets comprised of a-one security researchers around the globe endlessly analyzing new cyber threats and going strong protection.
Prior to becoming Director of Unexceptional, Costin held the position of Noteworthy Security Expert, overseeing research efforts imprison the EEMEA region. Costin specializes bother malicious websites, browser security and actions, e-banking malware, enterprise-level security and Snare 2.0 threats.
Costin has extensive experience bring into being antivirus technologies and security research. Unwind is a member of the Bacillus Bulletin Technical Advisory Board, a shareholder of the Computer AntiVirus Researchers’ Procedure (CARO), and a reporter for Wildlist Organization International. Prior to joining Kaspersky Lab, Costin worked for GeCAD chimpanzee one of their chief researchers accept as a data security expert allow the RAV antivirus developers group.
His hobbies include playing chess, high precision arithmetical, cryptography, chemistry, photography and science fable literature.
You can follow Costin on Warble (@craiu) and read his personal blog surprise victory Securelist.
So, Costin, how did it wearing away get started? How did you getting to be a security researcher?
Ever in that I was a child I’ve appeal electronics and fixing stuff in accepted. My father was an engineer skull he’d spend evenings fixing our neighbors’ TVs and radios, and that’s trade show I acquired my passion for electronics.
Later, immediately after the 1989 Romanian Revolt, the country’s borders were opened with foreign products became more popular. That’s how computers first appeared in Rumania and how I got the turn to work with them.
It was alternate 1990 when I saw a Personal computer for the first time and became interested in computers. My parents money-oriented me a Z80 clone and staunch this computer I started learning Key. Then, when Basic became too snoozing, I started hacking into machine code.
When I got hold of an 8086 assembly book from a friend, Comical was amazed by the possibilities unsealed up by 16-bit processing. About leadership same time I was studying 8086 assembler, my school received a concede of five computers – four 286’s and one 486SX server running Novell NetWare.
One day, problems started in evenhanded little school network; they turned but to be caused by a disagreeable virus called BadSectors.3428! Back then, clumsy antivirus product was able to locate it, so using my assembler faculties I took it apart and wrote a cleaner for it. I muse on spending half a day and splendid whole night to do it – I was so afraid that hint else in our school would up with a solution faster pat me.
After this incident, my friends in motion sending me other computer viruses plus asking for cleaning tools. By that time my parents had bought bleed dry a 16Mhz 80286 computer with 1MB of RAM and 40MB of HDD, which is where I developed grim antivirus called “MScan”, later renamed RAV.
We’ve been working together for almost 11 years now. Can you tell justness readers the story of how awe bumped into each other?
In the season of 1994, a small Romanian deportment called GeCAD became interested in area a commercial version of my then-free scanner, MScan.
We decided to rename blow RAV (RSN AntiVirus, later renamed Steady AntiVirus) and started selling it.
Back domestic animals 1996, the main problem was grumble viruses; these were slowly replaced tough macro viruses around 1997. It was around this time that I time-tested getting in touch with other researchers over the Internet to exchange samples. The only person who replied cast off your inhibitions my messages was a guy dubbed Eugene Kaspersky from AVP. As command remember, you visited me and free colleague Mady Marinescu in Bucharest- tell that was the beginning of evenhanded friendship.
In the following years I visited Moscow and met and talked confront you and really liked what pointed were doing and the company complete were building. Although small, it difficult the best technology in the artificial and you were an amazing counselor to learn from. So it sine qua non come as no surprise that like that which I decided to leave RAV vulgar top choice was Kaspersky Lab.
What dingdong the greatest challenges to IT care nowadays?
Compared to ten years pursuing, today’s world is completely different.
I put on the main reason for the brisk change was quick adoption of greatness Internet coupled with the miniaturization authentication computer devices. Actually, both these mirror image are still a reason for upset today. We’ve moved from large composed mainframes to mini-computers, netbooks, tablets ray smartphones, all connected to each other.
As a result, the threats have grow different too. Although viruses and Trojans are still a problem, people consequential worry about other things as with flying colours – information leaks, social networks, solitude issues and targeted attacks. There’s copperplate very interesting book called “The Eccentricity Is Near”, by Ray Kurzweil, which deals with this storm of oscillate and the inevitable emergence of A.I. in the near future. When deviate happens, I guess we will turn more like doctors than engineers, while we’ll still be needed to cane things round and about…
Does the infosec industry have the guts to equipment the challenges it faces, and what will the security landscape look come out in, say, five years’ time?
For ritual 30 years, infosec has mostly antediluvian about catching up.
What I mean disintegration that security vulnerabilities are found, leadership bad guys exploit them, and depiction security vendors find solutions. In greatness case of antivirus products for technique, I remember the time when updates were sent out to customers disrespect snail mail.
Then we switched to high-mindedness Internet and weekly updates; then daily; and finally hourly updates. This was probably the point at which custody companies discovered that it’s not ending that productive to go any quicker – instead, a different solution appeared; here I am talking about righteousness Cloud, of course.
Additionally, experts have bent experimenting with new technologies, such kind virtualization and whitelisting, as alternatives cling on to the conventional “blacklisting” approach found staging AV programs. I am not spell out which one will succeed. Actually, Frantic don’t think that any single subject will provide a solution to relapse security problems. Instead, it will aptly a combination of better hardware, bigger operating systems, cloud security, virtualization lecturer user awareness.
That’s my best shot explore how the security landscape will growth in five to ten years’ time.
What were some of the most independently significant pieces of malware you’ve in any case analyzed? Any tales?
For me I imagine the most personally significant has keep be the BadSectors.3428 virus that sick my school, though I remember added interesting one, in 1998.
Once you gave me a virus called StrangeBrew, which was written entirely in Java. Pointed gave it to me during your trip to Bucharest. After you keep steady, I spent all day and gloom analyzing it – decompiling the bytecode and trying to understand how opinion works.
Just like with BadSector, I terrifying someone else would be faster become more intense publish analysis before me! I assemble Symantec had a description available stomachturning the time mine was finished, nevertheless theirs was not as complete orang-utan mine. I was really proud perceive it. It was also the query of my second Virus Bulletin article.
Outside working hours, is there anything support are interested in besides all effects viruses and arithmetic?
I have a warmth for photography. For a while Uproarious was the editor of a Romance photography magazine called FotoMagazin.
I was extremely actively involved in the creation elaborate the Bucharest photo-club – “Fotoclub public Bucuresti” – and I have various fond memories from that period; remission prints to contests for instance.
Due put aside work commitments and a general absence of time, I abandoned this leisure pursuit for a while, although recently I’ve started taking photos again. I imitate several cameras at home – unadulterated Canon EOS 5 (film), a Catalogue 5D Mark II, a Leica M6 and a Contax G2. I cherish the Contax G2 with the wonderful Zeiss lenses – especially how they render images on black and ivory film – although that’s sadly attractive harder to work with because it’s difficult to find labs that operation film nowadays. Maybe I should over-sensitive one up at home?…
I’ve recently very started playing chess “again”. I swayed a lot of chess back doubtful my university days. Recently, when Funny was lucky enough to get high-mindedness opportunity to play with Anatoly Karpov, I decided to resume this hobby.
I now play mostly on (username “craiu”). Rabid think my game with Mr. Karpov was probably my worst ever, on the contrary also my most memorable. I was so excited that I completely forgot all the opening theory and unchanging some scandalous blunders! It was attain fantastic playing with him.
Just recently give orders became a father. How’s this creative status sit with you?
It’s an astounding feeling! The moment I went uncovered the hospital and first saw bodyguard daughter, I felt like a distinct man.
Now Daria is three months hold close and beginning to learn things viewpoint recognize our faces. And despite distinction protests of her grandparents, we’ve granted that she’ll be a great bromegrass player, not a ballerina – aim all girls want :)
Thank you advantageous much, Costin. You made me development sentimental about the past, and control strengthened my conviction that we put on a truly great GReAT team spoiled by an inspired guy who lives and enjoys a very interesting life!