Hot FinSpy research completes VB2017 programme

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Sep 21, 2017

The infamous FinSpy (or FinFisher) government spyware has managed to keep a low profile in recent years, though its use of two Microsoft zero-days (CVE-2017-0199 and CVE-2017-8759) this year shows that it is still active.

Today, researchers from ESET have published new research which points to the spyware using a different infection method: that of trojanized versions of legitimate software such WhatsApp, Skype or WinRAR. While this is not a new way of infecting users, what makes it rather unique is that there is evidence suggesting the malicious apps are served via a man-in-the-middle attack at the ISP level, indicating further sophistication in the delivery of the spyware.

The research will be presented by ESET's Filip Kafka at VB2017 in Madrid, in two weeks' time. In his last-minute presentation, Filip will provide some background on FinSpy, look at the newly found samples, and at the way the malware spreads. With the addition of Filip's paper – which we are very excited about – the VB2017 programme is now complete.

FinSpy is not a new topic for VB conference regulars. At VB2013 in Berlin, Kaspersky Lab researchers Sergey Golovanov and Denis Maslennikov presented a paper on this kind of business-to-government malware (which included the former performing a song 'dedicated' to the authors of such malware). It remains a very hot topic though, and if it interests you, we encourage you to register for VB2017, as the talks by Joseph Cox (on consumer spyware) and Claudio Guarnieri (on attacks against human rights activists) touch on the same subject.

Registration for VB2017 remains open, but places are filling up fast – book now to avoid disappointment!

VB2017-325w.jpg

 

twitter.png
fb.png
linkedin.png
hackernews.png
reddit.png

 

Latest posts:

In memoriam: Dr Alan Solomon

We were very sorry to learn of the passing of industry pioneer Dr Alan Solomon earlier this week.

New paper: Nexus Android banking botnet – compromising C&C panels and dissecting mobile AppInjects

In a new paper, researchers Aditya K Sood and Rohit Bansal provide details of a security vulnerability in the Nexus Android botnet C&C panel that was exploited in order to gather threat intelligence, and present a model of mobile AppInjects.

New paper: Collector-stealer: a Russian origin credential and information extractor

In a new paper, F5 researchers Aditya K Sood and Rohit Chaturvedi present a 360 analysis of Collector-stealer, a Russian-origin credential and information extractor.

VB2021 localhost videos available on YouTube

VB has made all VB2021 localhost presentations available on the VB YouTube channel, so you can now watch - and share - any part of the conference freely and without registration.

VB2021 localhost is over, but the content is still available to view!

VB2021 localhost - VB's second virtual conference - took place last week, but you can still watch all the presentations.

We have placed cookies on your device in order to improve the functionality of this site, as outlined in our cookies policy. However, you may delete and block all cookies from this site and your use of the site will be unaffected. By continuing to browse this site, you are agreeing to Virus Bulletin's use of data as outlined in our privacy policy.