Last decade recollection- Next decade predictions

[Abaddon]

2. What would you characterize as "tool of the decade"?

I may (or may not) be biased, but, I would characterize x64dbg as "tool of the decade"; it is the go-to choice for debugging 64 bit applications, which is the mainstream now. One would argue that IDA is just (if not more) effective towards this regards, but for me, due to the fact that x64dbg was developed during this decade, it deserves the honor.

If you were to name 5 tools that influenced the scene more, which would those be?

Of the ones that are public (not in any particular order)

1. IDA & Hexrays
2. x64dbg
3. Ghidra
4. Scylla
5. de4dot

Where do you think the future lies as far as tools go?

I expect to see tools featuring advancements in decompilation technology, code optimization, and code translation between different forms.

I expect to see tools featuring advancements in cryptographic attacks, that, in combination with advancements in processor speed/networking will render some of the protocols used nowadays obsolete.

I do agree with chants that hardware reverse engineering is one of the next big things, however i'm skeptical if this will be done at a hobbyist level, due to the mere investment costs this requires.

In regards to protocols reversing, I can see the increasing importance of it, but due to the volatility of protocol faults, i can't really wrap my head on how this will affect tool making; perhaps by an increase of tools to automate protocol fault detection (isn't this what the fuzzer technology is all about?)