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Comment by bmitc | Hacker News Reader

Interesting that they didn't mention in the summary that exploits were found for both a Samsung Galaxy and a Tesla head unit.

What type of knowledge do these people have? Networking? File systems? Linux kernels? How do they get started?

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I'm a professional hacker. Almost all my colleagues got started by asking a simple security question like, "How do I spy on what people are browsing on my home wifi?" Then googling the current tools for it. The next step is writing either a Python script to automate the process or contribute the GitHub of the tool you used to improve it. Less than 10% of my general colleagues (and even lower % for the best colleagues) actually go to school for security. Similar to any other IT work, like getting printers connected to a network or deploying an Active Directory domain across your company. Google it then use the tools and tutorials afforded to you. Basic networking/linux/windows/programming knowledge is usually the prerequisite, but the keyword there is, "basic".

So how do you spy on people on your home wifi. If I run a reverse proxy on my computer and then make the router use it, will chrome detect that it goes through a mitm?

Most likely. You'd probably need to install your own root certificate on your victims devices in that case.

Do you actively write and research new exploits?

Find out where they hang out and start picking up 'how' they work

There must be more efficient ways to learn how to hack than hanging out at the local Starbucks waiting for the hackers to come rolling in to do some latte hacking.

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