VB Blog

VB2016 Call for Papers - Frequently Asked Questions

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Mar 11, 2016

Are you interested in submitting an abstract for VB2016? We've answered some frequently asked questions about the Call for Papers, which closes next week.

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Throwback Thursday: Hash Woes

Posted by   Helen Martin on   Mar 10, 2016

This Throwback Thursday we go back to 2004, when the entire crypto community was abuzz with the news that a group of Chinese researchers had demonstrated flaws in a whole set of hash functions - VB took a closer look to clarify the situation and draw lessons from the incident.

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VB2015 paper: Mobile Banking Fraud via SMS in North America: Who's Doing it and How

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Mar 2, 2016

Though SMS may have been claimed dead many time, it is still very much alive, and quite popular among mobile phishers. At VB2015, Adaptive Mobile researcher Cathal Mc Daid presented a paper various mobile phishing campaigns targeting North American banks.

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Throwback Thursday: Viruses on the Internet

Posted by   Helen Martin on   Feb 25, 2016

This Throwback Thursday VB heads back to 1996 when - long before the days of driveby downloads and exploit kits - VB published a report on the state of viruses on the Internet.

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RSA and BSides San Francisco

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Feb 24, 2016

Next week, Virus Bulletin Editor Martijn Grooten will attend the RSA conference in San Francisco, where he will give a talk entitled "How Broken Is Our Crypto Really?" He will also speak at BSides San Francisco, where he will give a talk entitled "Elliptic Curve Cryptography for Those Who are Afraid of Mathematics".

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Virus Bulletin publishes first web filter test report

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Feb 19, 2016

After a lot of preparation, Virus Bulletin is proud to have published the first "VBWeb" comparative web filter test report, in which products' ability to block web-based malware and drive-by downloads was tested. Fortinet's FortiGuard appliance was the first product to achieve a VBWeb certification.

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VB2015 paper: Will Android Trojans, Worms or Rootkits Survive in SEAndroid and Containerization?

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Feb 18, 2016

Sophos researchers Rowland Yu and William Lee look at whether recent security enhancements to Android, such as SEAndroid and containerization, will be enough to defeat future malware threats.

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First six VB2016 sponsors announced

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Feb 17, 2016

Virus Bulletin is excited to announce the first six sponsors for VB2016, the 26th international Virus Bulletin conference, which will take place in Denver, Colorado, USA 5-7 October 2016.

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VB2015 paper: Sizing cybercrime: incidents and accidents, hints and allegations

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Feb 11, 2016

Cybercrime is big. But how big is it really? In a paper presented at VB2015 and together with the presentation video published on our website today, ESET researcher Stephen Cobb looks at previous studies that attempt the size of cybercrime and asks why we need such data and what can be done better.

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Throwback Thursday: The Thin Blue Line

Posted by   Helen Martin on   Feb 11, 2016

This Throwback Thursday, VB heads back to 1994 when UK Fraud Squad detectives started making inroads into the most puzzling 'Whodunnit' since the Great Train Robbery. Had an outbreak of computer crime swept Britain? No, it was all part of a police training program.

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Researchers crack into Storm botnet

Comms channels decrypted, automated removal possible.
Comms channels decrypted, automated removal possible. A group of German academics claim to have deciphered communications protocols used by the infamous 'Storm' botnet, allowing… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/01/researchers-crack-storm-botnet/

Disconnection of dubious provider sees spam levels plummet

Web-hosting firm believed to be responsible for 75% of spam.
Web-hosting firm believed to be responsible for 75% of spam. Anti-spam researchers across the world reported a significant drop in the volume of spam seen after web-hosting firm… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/11/disconnection-dubious-provider-sees-spam-levels-plummet/

Riders on a Storm

Researchers hijack botnet - and find spam success rates lower than previously believed.
Researchers hijack botnet - and find spam success rates lower than previously believed. Less than 1 in 12 million spam emails sent through the infamous Storm botnet led to a… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/11/riders-storm/

Storm mails bring spoof World War 3 news

US-Iran war story used as hook for malware barrage.
US-Iran war story used as hook for malware barrage. The Storm botnet has been spamming in force again in the past week, with its expected run targeting 4th of July celebrations in… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/07/storm-mails-bring-spoof-world-war-3-news/

MAAWG unveils spam and botnet battling policies

Working group of ISPs and net operators issue traffic calming guidelines.
Working group of ISPs and net operators issue traffic calming guidelines. Global collaboration body the Messaging Anti-Abuse Working Group (MAAWG) has ratified a set of guidelines… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/06/maawg-unveils-spam-and-botnet-battling-policies/

41 months plus hefty fine for botherder

Cross-border operation brings adware crook to book.
Cross-border operation brings adware crook to book. A Florida man has been sentenced to 41 months in prison and fined $65,000 (approx. £32,000) after implanting bot software on… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/06/41-months-plus-hefty-fine-botherder/

'Kraken' monster botnet causing controversy

As latest botnet scare debated, Storm keeps on blowing.
As latest botnet scare debated, Storm keeps on blowing. Recent reports of a massive botnet, apparently sneaking its trojans past security software and far outnumbering better-known… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/04/kraken-monster-botnet-causing-controversy/

HP ships infected USB keys

Autorun worms found on batch of server setup devices.
Autorun worms found on batch of server setup devices. A batch of USB thumb drives containing software intended to assist in the setup of servers have been found to contain some… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/04/hp-ships-infected-usb-keys/

Cybercriminals charged in New Zealand, Korea

Law closes in on alleged botnet master and rogue anti-spyware maker.
Law closes in on alleged botnet master and rogue anti-spyware maker. Police in New Zealand have charged an 18-year-old in connection with a botnet he is suspected of building and… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/03/cybercriminals-charged-new-zealand-korea/

Botnet-herding team arrested in Quebec

Gang held for managing million-machine zombie net.
Gang held for managing million-machine zombie net. Canadian police have announced the arrests of up to 17 people in Quebec, in connection with a major botnet operation thought to… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/02/botnet-herding-team-arrested-quebec/

Storm Valentines run under way

Seasonal spam and malware barrage gets going.
Seasonal spam and malware barrage gets going. The expected run of 'Storm' spams, pushing links to their latest line of malware disguised as Valentine's messages, has begun, with… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/02/storm-valentines-run-under-way/

Stormy love letters

Storm botnet celebrates birthday with new wave of spam.
Storm botnet celebrates birthday with new wave of spam. Earlier this week malware experts warned of likely increased activity of the Storm botnet around Valentine's Day next month.… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/01/stormy-love-letters/

Phishing danger increases as Storm botnet is hired out

Smart new trojan and Storm diversification add to online banking risk.
Smart new trojan and Storm diversification add to online banking risk. The dangers of banking online grew significantly in past weeks, as portions of the ever-expanding Storm… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/01/phishing-danger-increases-storm-botnet-hired-out/

Botnet roasting on an open fire

FBI reports successes of operation Bot Roast; McAfee predicts cyber espionage for 2008.
FBI reports successes of operation Bot Roast; McAfee predicts cyber espionage for 2008. The FBI has revealed that eight individuals have been indicted, pled guilty or been… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/12/botnet-roasting-open-fire/

Teenage botherder arrested in New Zealand

International cooperation also leads to eight arrests in the US.
International cooperation also leads to eight arrests in the US. Police in New Zealand have arrested an 18-year-old youth believed to be the herder of a botnet of 1.3 million… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/11/teenage-botherder-arrested-new-zealand/

US botnet master confesses to crimes

Security consultant to plead guilty, could face heavy sentence.
Security consultant to plead guilty, could face heavy sentence. A Los Angeles man has agreed to plead guilty to several counts of fraud and unauthorised interfering with computer… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/11/us-botnet-master-confesses-crimes/

Storm botnet evolution hints at spam and DDoS renting

Latest change in tactics could mean zombie clusters for hire.
Latest change in tactics could mean zombie clusters for hire. The latest twist in the long-running 'Storm' saga, the use of encryption in communications between infected hosts and… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/10/storm-botnet-evolution-hints-spam-and-ddos-renting/

Storm DDoS hits anti-scam sites

419 fighters attacked - NFL and TOR latest spam hooks.
419 fighters attacked - NFL and TOR latest spam hooks. The massive botnet amassed by the 'Storm' (Zhelatin/Nuwar/Dorf/etc.) attack continues to target new victims, with the TOR… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/09/storm-ddos-hits-anti-scam-sites/

House of Lords warns of e-crime fears

Report recommends harder, smarter fight against online dangers.
Report recommends harder, smarter fight against online dangers. A major report by the Science and Technology Committee of the UK's House of Lords has found the internet to be rife… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/08/house-lords-warns-e-crime-fears/

Worries of Storm forming massive botnet

DDoS danger looms as infection levels boom.
DDoS danger looms as infection levels boom. Repeated waves of the 'Storm' trojan attacks continue to be spammed out, with the latest using more eCards to hook in still more… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/08/worries-storm-forming-massive-botnet/

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