Google purchases Zynamics, a maker of software analysis tools.
Google has acquired security
firm Zynamics for its software analysis tools.
Founded in 2004 by CEO Halvar Flake
(Thomas Dullien), Zynamics builds reverse-engineering tools for offensive
and defensive security that help find security vulnerabilities within
applications. According to Zynamics, its tools can be used to help understand
security updates, identify FOSS (free and open-source software) code in
binaries, and identify flaws in closed-source software and build input to
trigger them.
The security firm's portfolio includes four analysis tools: BinDiff,
VxClass, BinNavi and BinCrowd. BinDiff is a comparison tool for binary files
that assists vulnerability researchers and engineers in analyzing similarities
and differences in disassembled code. VxClass, meanwhile, can structurally
compare executables and ignore byte-level changes such as instruction
reordering or string obfuscation, according to the company's Website.
Zynamics also offers BinNavi, which it describes as a binary code
reverse-engineering tool that was built to assist vulnerability researchers who
look for vulnerabilities in disassembled code, and BinCrowd, which can be
used to create a central repository of reverse-engineered disassembly
information and share this information.
Google offered little specific information about how the Zynamics technology
will be used.
"We're delighted to have the Zynamics team aboard and hope their tools and
skills in fighting malware will help us better protect Google's users," a
spokesperson told eWEEK.
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