Locked Down, Not Locked Out - How I Escaped Your Secure Operator Workstation

Learn how to identify and exploit common security vulnerabilities in "locked down" operator workstations through this 25-minute DEF CON 33 conference talk. Discover recurring security flaws that penetration testers exploit across multiple industries, including misconfigurations, weak application controls, and overlooked "living off the land" techniques that allow attackers to break out of restricted environments using only standard operator account permissions and local machine tools. Explore real-world breakout scenarios demonstrating how attackers escalate privileges and compromise systems without triggering security alerts, while examining why these vulnerabilities persist despite variations in vendor solutions and industry-specific constraints. Gain practical, vendor-agnostic defense strategies to harden operator workstations against these common attack vectors, making it significantly more difficult for attackers to succeed in compromising critical systems.