VB Blog

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

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Nov 3, 2017

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 infection process, and its aftermath, as seen through the lens of a tool used to perform man-in-the-middle decryption. Today, we publish both Andrew's slides and the recording of his presentation.

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Paper: FAME - Friendly Malware Analysis Framework

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Nov 2, 2017

Today, we publish a short paper in which CERT Société Générale presents FAME, its open source malware analysis framework.

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Ebury and Mayhem server malware families still active

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Oct 31, 2017

Ebury and Mayhem, two families of Linux server malware, about which VB published papers back in 2014, are still active and have received recent updates.

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VB2017 paper: Crypton - exposing malware's deepest secrets

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Oct 27, 2017

Crypton, a tool developed by F5 Networks researchers Julia Karpin and Anna Dorfman, aims to speed up the reverse engineering process by decrypting encrypted content found in a (malicious) binary. The researchers described the tool in a paper which they presented at VB2017 in Madrid. Today, we publish both the paper and the recording of their presentation.

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VB2017 paper: The sprawling market of consumer spyware

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Oct 25, 2017

For many people, the threat of an abusive partner or ex-partner is very real - and the market for consumer spyware worryingly large. Today, we publish the recording of a presentation on the subject of consumer spyware given at VB2017 by The Daily Beast reporter Joseph Cox.

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Gábor Szappanos wins fourth Péter Szőr Award

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Oct 23, 2017

At the VB2017 gala dinner, the fourth Péter Szőr Award was presented to Sophos researcher Gábor Szappanos for his paper "AKBuilder – the crowdsourced exploit kit".

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VB2017 paper: Walking in your enemy's shadow: when fourth-party collection becomes attribution hell

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Oct 20, 2017

We publish the VB2017 paper and video by Kaspersky Lab researchers Juan Andres Guerrero-Saade and Costin Raiu, in which they look at fourth-party collection (spies spying on other spies' campaigns) and its implications for attribution.

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Didn't come to VB2017? Tell us why!

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Oct 11, 2017

Virus Bulletin is a company - and a conference - with a mission: to further the research in and facilitate the fight against digital threats. To help us in this mission, we want to hear from those who didn't come to Madrid. What is your impression of the VB Conference? What did you think of this year's programme? And why couldn't you come to Madrid?

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Montreal will host VB2018

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Oct 10, 2017

Last week, we announced the full details of VB2018, which will take place 3-5 October 2018 at the Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth hotel in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

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VB2017 preview: Beyond lexical and PDNS (guest blog)

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Oct 5, 2017

In a special guest blog post, VB2017 Silver sponsor Cisco Umbrella writes about a paper that researchers Dhia Mahjoub and David Rodriguez will present at the conference this Friday.

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Search blog

Chinese internet firm suspended

One-year suspension issued to mobile phone picture services supplier as punishment for carrying out unsolicited marketing.
One-year suspension issued to mobile phone picture services supplier as punishment for carrying out unsolicited marketing.Chinese Internet company Sohu.com will be subject to a… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/08/chinese-internet-firm-suspended/

Security of hash functions called into question

The encryption field was thrown into a frenzy at the end of last month when the security of hash functions MD5, SHA-0 and SHA-1 was called into question.
The encryption field was thrown into a frenzy at the end of last month when the security of hash functions MD5, SHA-0 and SHA-1 was called into question.The encryption field was… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/08/security-hash-functions-called-question/

Verizon sues SMS spammers

Despite there currently being no US laws regarding SMS spam.
Despite there currently being no US laws regarding SMS spam. US mobile provider Verizon Wireless has filed a lawsuit against 51 individuals who, it alleges, sent over 4.7 million… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/08/verizon-sues-sms-spammers/

CA buys PestPatrol

CA splashes out on anti-spyware technology.
CA splashes out on anti-spyware technology. Computer Associates has announced its acquisition of PestPatrol, a privately-held provider of anti-spyware software. CA will market the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/08/ca-buys-pestpatrol/

McAfee to buy Foundstone

McAfee splashes out on vulnerability management.
McAfee splashes out on vulnerability management. McAfee, Inc. has announced its impending acquisition of Foundstone, Inc., manufacturer of vulnerability management software, for… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/08/mcafee-buy-foundstone/

XP SP2 wreaks havoc with AV

XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) establishes stronger security settings that help defend against viruses, hackers and worms.
XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) establishes stronger security settings that help defend against viruses, hackers and worms.According to Microsoft, the newly released (and much anticipated)… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/08/xp-sp2-wreaks-havoc-av/

Guilty as charged

Teen admits to distributing Blaster variant.
Teen admits to distributing Blaster variant. Minnesota teenager Jeffrey Lee Parson has pleaded guilty to distributing the B variant of the Blaster worm . Parson admitted to a… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/08/guilty-charged/

Two victories, a settlement and a reduction in spam

A promising month in the fight against spam.
A promising month in the fight against spam. With Microsoft achieving a $4 million court victory against spammer Daniel Khoshnood and his company Pointcom Inc., and the New York… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/08/two-victories-settlement-and-reduction-spam/

August

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/08/

Spammers brought to justice

Prosecutions made in Denmark, USA and India.
Prosecutions made in Denmark, USA and India. The new year saw a flurry of reports of spammers being brought to justice, with prosecutions being made in Denmark, the USA and… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/07/spammers-brought-justice/

Mydoom.O

Latest Mydoom variant causes problems for Google.
Latest Mydoom variant causes problems for Google. A new version of the Mydoom worm, Mydoom.O, has been spreading across the Internet by email, causing problems even for the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/07/mydoom-o/

Probation for Magold author

Magold author sentenced, Finnish Lasku author arrested.
Magold author sentenced, Finnish Lasku author arrested. Last month saw the sentencing of a Hungarian teenager to two years' probation for creating the Magold virus. Teenager… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/07/probation-magold-author/

Spammer to pay $40,000

Spam King agrees to settlement with NY State.
Spam King agrees to settlement with NY State. High-profile email marketer Scott Richter, aka the 'Spam King', has agreed to pay $40,000 in settlement of a lawsuit brought against… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/07/spammer-pay-40-000/

Two victories, a settlement and a reduction in spam

Despite there currently being no US laws regarding SMS spam.
Despite there currently being no US laws regarding SMS spam. With Microsoft achieving a $4 million court victory against spammer Daniel Khoshnood and his company Pointcom Inc.,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/07/two-victories-settlement-and-reduction-spam/

McAfee plans move to Ireland

Emerald Isle lures another AV firm.
Emerald Isle lures another AV firm. McAfee Inc. (formerly known as Network Associates) has announced plans to move its European headquarters from Amsterdam to the Republic of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/07/mcafee-plans-move-ireland/

Virus in your pocket

Latest proof-of-concept virus affects Pocket PC.
Latest proof-of-concept virus affects Pocket PC. Back in August 2001, Virus Bulletin carried an article which warned "be prepared for the first Windows CE worms for Pocket PCs".… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/07/virus-your-pocket/

Court victory for Microsoft

Spammer ordered to pay $4 million damages to Microsoft.
Spammer ordered to pay $4 million damages to Microsoft. A Californian man has been ordered to pay $4 million to Microsoft after he was found guilty of having sent unsolicited… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/07/court-victory-microsoft/

Bumper quarter for Symantec

Profits more than doubled since last year.
Profits more than doubled since last year. Symantec has announced record profits for its fiscal first quarter of 2005. The AV company reported a profit of $131m on sales of $577m… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/07/bumper-quarter-symantec/

AOL employee colludes with spammers

AOL victim of inside job.
AOL victim of inside job. An AOL employee was arrested last month and charged with selling the company's customer email list to spammers. 24-year-old AOL engineer Jason Smathers… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/07/aol-employee-colludes-spammers/

The world from an email marketer's point of view

Anti-virus and security related articles provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
Spam King Scott Richter says he is "out to make the Internet a better place with email marketing" . High-profile email marketer Scott Richter, aka the 'Spam King', has told PC… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/07/world-email-marketer-s-point-view/

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