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News | Dec. 5, 2019

Ghidra Roars into World Recognition!

By Sydney Cheuvront, Research Communications NSA

2019 R&D 100 Winner
2019 R&D 100 Winner
2019 R&D 100 Winner
R&D 100 Winner
2019 R&D 100 Winner
Photo By: R&D 100
VIRIN: 191126-D-IM742-2001

The Dragon can’t be contained.

The open source version of Ghidra, the NSA Research-developed software reverse engineering (SRE) framework, was awarded the highly-acclaimed 2019 R&D 100 Award! Ghidra was created in the late 1990s and has been a longstanding contributor to NSA’s Cybersecurity mission. With its public release, Ghidra’s sphere of influence has dramatically increased. The R&D 100 Awards have honored the best innovations and technologies of the year across government and industry (including small businesses and Fortune 500 companies). The award, established in 1963, is often regarded as the most globally-prestigious recognition of invention and innovation.

Ghidra red dragon
Graphic of Red Dragon with GHIDRA title
Ghidra red dragon
GHIDRA
Graphic of Red Dragon with GHIDRA title
Photo By: NSA
VIRIN: 191126-D-IM742-2002
“We’re thrilled to get this honor that recognizes not just recent efforts, but the efforts of all the people who have conceived of and worked on Ghidra over the last 20 years,” says Gwen Lilly, part of the Ghidra core leadership team. “This external recognition of NSA’s expertise is important as we continue to engage in the open-source community, seek collaboration partners, and try to attract the best talent.”

Ghidra’s open source release in March 2019 has been a game changer, providing access to capabilities that would otherwise be unavailable to students and cybersecurity professionals and practitioners. With over 500,000 downloads, its release has launched commercial training programs, influenced universities to alter their cybersecurity curricula, and is expected to contribute to innovative solutions for the nation’s cybersecurity. 

Ghidra will be honored at the annual R&D 100 black-tie awards dinner. Congratulations to Research and the Ghidra team for Ghidra’s selection as a national R&D 100 winner!