VB Blog

VB2018 paper: Fake News, Inc.

Posted by   Helen Martin on   Apr 25, 2019

A former reporter by profession, Andrew Brandt's curiosity was piqued when he came across what appeared at first glance to be the website of a small-town newspaper based in Illinois, but under scrutiny, things didn’t add up. At VB2018 he presented a paper in which he shared the results of his investigation of the site. Today, we publish his paper and the recording of his presentation.

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Paper: Alternative communication channel over NTP

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Apr 24, 2019

In a new paper published today, independent researcher Nikolaos Tsapakis writes about the possibilities of malware using NTP as a covert communication channel and how to stop this.

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VB2019 conference programme announced

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Apr 5, 2019

VB is excited to reveal the details of an interesting and diverse programme for VB2019, the 29th Virus Bulletin International Conference, which takes place 2-4 October in London, UK.

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VB2018 paper: Under the hood - the automotive challenge

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Mar 27, 2019

Car hacking has become a hot subject in recent years, and at VB2018 in Montreal, Argus Cyber Security's Inbar Raz presented a paper that provides an introduction to the subject, looking at the complex problem, examples of car hacks, and the challenges ahead. Today, we publish both Inbar's paper and the recording of his presentation.

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VB2018 paper and video: Android app deobfuscation using static-dynamic cooperation

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Mar 20, 2019

Static analysis and dynamic analysis each have their shortcomings as methods for analysing potentially malicious files. Today, we publish a VB2018 paper by Check Point researchers Yoni Moses and Yaniv Mordekhay, in which they describe a method that combines static and dynamic analysis to defeat app obfuscation in Android binaries. We also publish the video of their presentation.

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VB2019 call for papers closes this weekend

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Mar 15, 2019

The call for papers for VB2019 closes on 17 March, and while we've already received many great submissions, we still want more!

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Registration open for VB2019 ─ book your ticket now!

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Mar 13, 2019

Registration for VB2019, the 29th Virus Bulletin International Conference, is now open, with an early bird rate available until 1 July.

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The VB2019 call for papers is about ... papers

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Mar 8, 2019

When we are calling for papers for the Virus Bulletin conference as we are doing now, we really mean a written paper. But don't worry if you've never written a paper - we can help!

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VB2018 video: Adware is just malware with a legal department - how we reverse engineered OSX/Pirrit, received legal threats, and survived

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Mar 8, 2019

Amit Serper first analysed the OSX/Pirrit adware in 2016, highlighting some of its malware-like techniques, and soon afterwards started receiving legal threats from the company behind it. At VB2018 Amit gave a presentation in which he discussed both the adware and the legal threats he received for calling it malware. Today, we publish the video of Amit's presentation.

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VB2018 paper: Anatomy of an attack: detecting and defeating CRASHOVERRIDE

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Mar 5, 2019

In December 2016, the CRASHOVERRIDE malware framework was used to cause a blackout in Ukraine. At VB2018 in Montreal, Dragos researcher Joe Slowik presented a detailed paper on the framework, explaining how the malware works and how it targets various protocols used to operate the electric grid. Today we publish both Joe's paper and the recording of his presentation.

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VB2018 paper: The dark side of WebAssembly

Today, we publish the VB2018 paper by Symantec researchers Aishwarya Lonkar and Siddhesh Chandrayan on the security risks that come with WebAssembly.
With this year's very successful Virus Bulletin Conference (VB2018) now behind us, we plan to continue the tradition of publishing most of the papers and videos of the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2018/10/vb2018-paper-dark-side-webassembly/

VB2017 video: Turning Trickbot: decoding an encrypted command-and-control channel

Trickbot, a banking trojan which appeared this year, seems to be a new, more modular, and more extensible malware descendant of the notorious Dyre botnet trojan. At VB2017, Symantec researcher Andrew Brandt presented a walkthrough of a typical Trickbot in…
Trickbot, first reported a year ago by Malwarebytes researcher Jérôme Segura as the successor of Dyre/Dyreza, has become perhaps the most important banking trojan of 2017. It is… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/11/vb2017-video-turning-trickbot-decoding-encrypted-command-and-control-channel/

VB2016 paper: One-Click Fileless Infection

Symantec researchers Himanshu Anand and Chastine Menrige explain how a single click can lead to a compromised machine, without malware ever being stored on disk.
Over the last few years, we have seen a sharp increase in 'fileless' infections, where a machine is compromised without a malicious file ever being written to disk. Though not… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/03/vb2016-paper-one-click-fileless-infection/

Symantec quietly retires PC Tools security product lines

Sales of Spyware Doctor and other security products end, support to continue for existing users.
Sales of Spyware Doctor and other security products end, support to continue for existing users.Symantec has quietly announced the end of life the of PC Tools security product… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/05/symantec-quietly-retires-pc-tools-security-product-lines/

From spear phishing to watering holes

Symantec reports increase in 'watering hole attacks'.
Symantec reports increase in 'watering hole attacks'. Imagine that for some reason you wanted to gain access to my computer. One thing you could do is send me an email with some… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2012/09/spear-phishing-watering-holes/

'Nitro attacks' continue

PoisonIvy trojan sent attached to email warning about the same trojan.
PoisonIvy trojan sent attached to email warning about the same trojan. Researchers at Symantec report that the 'Nitro attacks', which target a number of large companies, many of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/12/nitro-attacks-continue/

Spammers exploit internationalized domain names

Non-Latin characters in URLs used to trick filters.
Non-Latin characters in URLs used to trick filters. By using internationalized domain names (IDN), spammers manage to avoid detection of URLs in their messages. IDNs were… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/03/spammers-exploit-internationalized-domain-names/

Welsh 419 scam

Email from Welsh-speaking Kuwaiti widow indicative of more targeted spam.
Email from Welsh-speaking Kuwaiti widow indicative of more targeted spam. Email users in Wales who received a recent 419 scam will have been surprised to find the message -… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/02/welsh-419-scam/

AV-Test.org issues latest round of testing results

Symantec and Microsoft outdo Trend and McAfee in live tests.
Symantec and Microsoft outdo Trend and McAfee in live tests. Independent testing organisation AV-Test.org has released its latest round of test results in a simplified format,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/08/av-test-org-issues-latest-round-testing-results/

Symantec to acquire VeriSign business

Vendor splashes out more cash on authentication.
Vendor splashes out more cash on authentication.Symantec, the AV vendor with a reputation for snapping up other companies, has announced its purchase of VeriSign's authentication… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/05/symantec-acquire-verisign-business/

Symantec buys key pair of encryption firms

PGP and GuardianEdge snapped up in surprise dual acquisition.
PGP and GuardianEdge snapped up in surprise dual acquisition.Symantec has announced the acquisition of two separate firms specialising in encryption and email security. The deals… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/05/symantec-buys-key-pair-encryption-firms/

Microsoft steps into free AV market

Security Essentials release creates expected storm of words.
Security Essentials release creates expected storm of words.Microsoft's release of its free Security Essentials product this week sparked the expected barrage of views and opinions… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/10/microsoft-steps-free-av-market/

Banking sector confuses users over online safety

Leftfield AV detection scores used to promote ID theft tool.
Leftfield AV detection scores used to promote ID theft tool. With online banking an increasingly important way of interacting with our banks, the security of online transactions is… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/04/banking-sector-confuses-users-over-online-safety/

AV-Comparatives releases latest detection figures

Large collection test shows major improvement from AV giants.
Large collection test shows major improvement from AV giants. Independent testing organisation AV-Comparatives has released its latest bi-annual detection test figures, with 17… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/03/av-comparatives-releases-latest-detection-figures/

Symantec slip sparks suspicion, spam

Update error leads to conspiracy theories and exploitation of fears.
Update error leads to conspiracy theories and exploitation of fears. A faulty update issued to some users of Symantec's Norton product line yesterday has led to an explosion of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/03/symantec-slip-sparks-suspicion-spam/

MessageLabs acquired by Symantec

Acquisition deal valued at $695m.
Acquisition deal valued at $695m. Security industry heavyweight Symantec has announced a definitive agreement to acquire software-as-a-service security specialist MessageLabs.… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/10/messagelabs-acquired-symantec/

Symantec to acquire PC Tools

Industry giant adds spyware specialist to growing portfolio.
Industry giant adds spyware specialist to growing portfolio. Security industry behemoth Symantec has announced the planned acquisition of PC Tools, the Australia-based company… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/08/symantec-acquire-pc-tools/

QuickTime flaw could open Windows PCs to hackers

Firefox users most vulnerable; Internet Explorer users should be wary too.
Firefox users most vulnerable; Internet Explorer users should be wary too. Polish security researcher Krystian Kloskowski has published a proof-of-concept exploit for a… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/11/quicktime-flaw-could-open-windows-pcs-hackers/

Symantec joins data leak frenzy

Vontu purchase latest move in data protection trend.
Vontu purchase latest move in data protection trend.Symantec has announced the $350 million purchase of data leak prevention firm Vontu, following several similar moves by major… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/11/symantec-joins-data-leak-frenzy/

Word for Mac exploit spotted

Patch Tuesday flaw targeted by vulnerability.
Patch Tuesday flaw targeted by vulnerability. A vulnerability in the Apple Mac version of Microsoft Word, covered by a patch in this month's Patch Tuesday security update, has been… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/10/word-mac-exploit-spotted/

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