nandsec

Applied Research

nandsec is focused on security research in different domains, such as operating system security, memory safety, malware, firmware and AI agents. We welcome collaboration with other organisations and academic researchers, and we help businesses investigate the security questions that matter to them.

state confusion The specification allows data only after authentication. The implementation accepts it in HELLO and moves to SESSION, allowing a client to bypass authentication.

Focus areas

The subjects we research and publish on.

Memory safety and exploit mitigation
How memory corruption bugs are exploited, and the defences that stop them: memory tagging, control-flow integrity and hardened allocators.
Operating system security
Kernel, boot and user-space security, and the isolation between processes, containers and sandboxes.
Malware and threat research
Reverse engineering malware and the techniques used against Australian organisations, published with vendor-neutral detection logic.
Embedded devices and firmware
Boot chains, update mechanisms and firmware in the devices businesses run.
Compiled software and the supply chain
Binary analysis of C and Rust, what compilers and build pipelines produce, and whether SBOMs match what ships.
Agentic systems and LLM security
How LLM applications, agents, MCP servers and AI coding tools handle permissions, isolation and untrusted input.
Products used by Australian businesses
The software and hardware that local small and mid-sized businesses depend on, with vulnerabilities disclosed to the vendor.

Research projects

Research at nandsec is focused on providing in-depth analysis of the technologies your product or your customers depend on. This includes SDKs, protocol implementations, chipsets and operating system defences. nandsec instruments and fuzzes each target, tests it against its specification and measures its exploit mitigations. Each result comes with proof-of-concept code that reproduces it.

Typical subjects

  • Protocols and their implementations
  • Chipsets, SDKs and vendor firmware
  • Operating system and runtime defences
  • Proof-of-concept code and test harnesses

How it runs

We agree the questions and publication terms first and share results at each milestone.

Research collaboration

Research collaboration brings nandsec together with other organisations and academic researchers on a shared security problem. nandsec contributes vulnerability analysis and proof-of-concept work, and agrees authorship, data handling and publication terms with each partner before the work starts.

Typical work

  • Joint research with industry and universities
  • Shared test environments and datasets
  • Co-authored papers and talks
  • Coordinated disclosure of joint findings

How it runs

Each collaboration starts with written terms for authorship, data handling and publication.

Independent review for vendors

Independent review for vendors assesses your product, or one of its components, and produces a report you can share with customers. nandsec rates each finding with a CVSS v4.0 vector, retests your fixes and coordinates disclosure, including CVE assignment, before publication.

Scope

  • A scoped review of the product or one component
  • A report written for publication
  • Retesting of fixes before release
  • Blog posts agreed with the vendor, and CVE assignment

How it runs

Findings stay private until a fix ships or the disclosure period ends.

Day 90 of 90Disclosure period over

day 90 ยท Period ends The latest date for the blog post if no fix ships. We extend it when the vendor shows that a fix is in progress.

Other services

Penetration TestingApplications, APIs, cloud, networks and internet-facing systems. Security Architecture and AdvisoryThreat models, architecture review and secure design. AI and Agent SecuritySecure setup, review and testing for AI tools, agents and AI-built software. Red Teaming and ForensicsRed and purple team engagements, compromise assessment and malware analysis. Embedded and Firmware SecurityDevices, firmware, operating systems and compiled software. Security EngineeringHardened systems, secure pipelines and secure firmware for your products. Software Design and EngineeringArchitecture, full-stack, mobile and systems development.

Discuss a project

Email [email protected] with the technology and the question you want answered. We reply to arrange a call. For sensitive discussions, or if you prefer, message us on Signal or SimpleX.