VB Blog

First sponsors of VB2017 announced

Posted by Martijn Grooten on Mar 6, 2017

We are excited to announce the first five sponsors of VB2017, companies based in Europe, Asia and North America.

Posted by Martijn Grooten on Feb 27, 2017

A recent paper showed that many HTTPS-intercepting security solutions have implemented TLS rather poorly. Does that mean we should avoid such solutions altogether?

Posted by Martijn Grooten on Feb 23, 2017

Researchers from Google and CWI Amsterdam have created the first known collision of the SHA-1 hashing algorithm, making a very strong case to ditch it.

Posted by Helen Martin on Feb 23, 2017

VB was saddened to learn this week of the passing of one of the pioneers of the AV industry, Ross Greenberg. This Throwback Thursday we look back at an interview with Ross in November 1995.

Posted by Martijn Grooten on Feb 20, 2017

Have you analysed a new online threat? Do you know a new way to defend against such threats? Then submit an abstract in the CFP for VB2017!

Posted by Martijn Grooten on Feb 17, 2017

APT reports are great for gaining an understanding of how advanced attack groups operate - however, they can also provide free QA for the threat actors. Today, we publish a VB2016 paper by Gadi Evron (Cymmetria) and Inbar Raz (Perimeter X), who discuss what they think is wrong with many APT reports and what can be done to improve them.

Posted by Martijn Grooten on Feb 14, 2017

Industry veteran Mikko Hyppönen recently urged would-be security researchers to ditch their favourite pop music and listen to security podcasts on their commute to work instead. Virus Bulletin Editor Martijn Grooten shares his favourite security podcasts.

Posted by Martijn Grooten on Feb 10, 2017

In a presentation at VB2016, Patrick Wardle, Director of Research at Synack, discussed the possibilities of Mac malware recording the user via the webcam. Today, we publish the video of Patrick's presentation.

Posted by Martijn Grooten on Feb 9, 2017

Virus Bulletin Editor Martijn Grooten calls for the security community not to forget those most vulnerable in the digital world, including political activists living under oppressive regimes, and victims of abuse.

Posted by Helen Martin on Feb 9, 2017

In early 1991, the world was a troubled place and conflict and violence were being reported globally on a daily basis. With this as a backdrop, the world of "indiscriminate" computer viruses which "victimise in a random and unpredictable manner" seemed relatively trivial to then Editor of VB, Edward Wilding.

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Netflix issue shows email verification really does matter

A clever trick taking advantage of the fact that Gmail ignores dots in email addresses could be used to trick someone into paying for your Netflix subscription - demonstrating the importance of confirmed opt-in.
In the email security community, the use of confirmed opt-in has long been a recommended practice: an email address given to you can't be used until the account owner has… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2018/04/netflix-issue-shows-email-verification-does-matter/

VB2017 paper: Exploring the virtual worlds of advergaming

At VB2017 in Madrid, Malwarebytes' Chris Boyd presented a paper in which he looked at various aspects of advergaming, from unreadable EULAs to fake programs that promise to block ads. Today, we publish both the paper and the recording of Chris's presentat…
At VB2016 in Denver, Malwarebytes researchers Jérôme Segura and Chris Boyd presented a paper on malicious advertising, or malvertising. At the end of the paper, as they looked at… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2018/04/vb2017-paper-exploring-virtual-worlds-advergaming/

New paper: Distinguishing between malicious app collusion and benign app collaboration: a machine-learning approach

Two or more mobile apps, viewed independently, may not appear to be malicious - but in combination, they could become harmful by exchanging information with one another and by performing malicious activities together. Today, we publish a new paper by a gr…
Yesterday, we published a paper (that was presented at VB2016) on Android app collusions: the situation in which two or more apps work together to exfiltrate data from a device… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2018/03/new-paper-distinguishing-between-malicious-app-collusion-and-benign-app-collaboration-machine-learning-approach/

VB2016 paper: Wild Android collusions

At VB2016 in Denver, Jorge Blasco presented a paper (co-written with Thomas M. Chen, Igor Muttik and Markus Roggenbach), in which he discussed the concept of app collusion - where two (or more) apps installed on the same device work together to collect an…
Playing out in the sidelines of the Cambridge Analytica scandal was the discovery that Facebook had been collecting metadata on the calls and SMS conversations of many of the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2018/03/vb2016-paper-wild-android-collusions/

VB2017 paper: The life story of an IPT - Inept Persistent Threat actor

At VB2017 in Madrid, Polish security researcher and journalist Adam Haertlé presented a paper about a very inept persistent threat. Today, we publish both the paper and the recording of Adam's presentation.
Last Wednesday, Belgium-based Polish hacker Thomasz T. was arrested during a visit to his home country. Thomasz is believed to be the author of the Polski, Vortex, and Flotera… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2018/03/vb2017-paper-life-story-ipt-inept-persistent-threat-actor/

Five reasons to submit a VB2018 paper this weekend

The call for papers for VB2018 closes on 18 March, and while we've already received many great submissions, we still want more! Here are five reasons why you should submit a paper this weekend.
The call for papers for VB2018 will close this Sunday, 18 March (in fact, to ensure we cover the entirety of the deadline day across all time zones, we'll close submissions first… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2018/03/five-reasons-submit-vb2018-paper-weekend/

First partners of VB2018 announced

We are excited to announce the first six companies to partner with VB2018.
We are excited to announce that all four Platinum partnerships of VB2018, the 28th Virus Bulletin International Conference, have been filled. Both ESET and Tencent have… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2018/03/first-partners-vb2018-announced/

VB2018: looking for technical and non-technical talks

We like to pick good, solid technical talks for the VB conference programme, but good talks don't have to be technical and we welcome less technical submissions just as much.
Nine days from today, the call for papers for VB2018 will close. We've already received many great submissions (in fact, we already have more proposals than we have places to… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2018/03/vb2018-looking-technical-and-non-technical-talks/

Partner with VB2018 for extra visibility among industry peers

Partnering with the VB conference links your company to a successful and well-established event, demonstrates your commitment to moving the industry forward, allows you to meet potential clients, be visible to industry peers and build lasting connections.…
Preparations are under way for VB2018, or to give it its full name, the 28th Virus Bulletin International Conference – it truly is a global event, attracting speakers and… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2018/03/partner-vb2018-extra-visibility-among-industry-peers/

VB2017 paper: The router of all evil

At VB2017 in Madrid, security researcher Himanshu Anand presented a paper on malware that targets routers, looking both at the topic in general and at some individual case studies. Today we publish both the paper (co-written with Chastine Menrige) and the…
In recent years, we have seem a significant increase in malware targeting routers. Given that, unlike most endpoint devices, routers are often connected directly to the internet,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2018/03/vb2017-paper-router-all-evil/

Using Mailchimp makes malware campaigns a little bit more successful

In recent months, some malicious spam campaigns have been spreading via the systems of Mailchimp, a well-known email service provider - a tactic which may give the campaigns a slightly higher success rate.
Sending one email is easy. Sending thousands or millions of emails is hard: one effect of the anti-spam infrastructure we have collectively built is that the process of sending… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2018/03/using-mailchimp-makes-malware-campaigns-little-bit-more-successful/

March

https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2018/03/

VB2017 video: The state of cybersecurity in Africa: Kenya

Though many of the IT security issues we face are global, there is a noticeable difference in the threats faced in various countries and regions, as well as in the ways they are dealt with. At VB2017, we heard from Tyrus Kamau about the state of cybersecu…
IT security, or the lack thereof, affects Internet users around the world, and though many of the issues we face are global, there is a noticeable difference in the threats faced… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2018/03/vb2017-video-state-cybersecurity-africa-kenya/

A crime against statistics that is probably worse than the cyber attacks faced in County Durham

A report on the number of cyber attacks faced by UK local authorities is a good example of how the large numbers seen in many reports on security are rather meaningless.
Tomorrow, I will give a talk entitled "Don't know much about security" at the offices of ENISA, the EU's agency for network and information security. Despite the title, the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2018/02/crime-against-statistics-probably-worse-cyber-attacks-faced-county-durham/

NCSC gives important advice on lateral movement

The UK's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has provided helpful and practical advice on preventing and detecting lateral movement by an attacker within a network.
Though not even a year and a half old, the UK's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has already managed to make a name for itself through its practical advice and guidance on… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2018/02/ncsc-gives-important-advice-lateral-movement/

What kind of people attend Virus Bulletin conferences?

If you are considering submitting a proposal for a talk to VB2018 and you're not familiar with the event, you may find it useful to know what kind of people attend the conference.
The Call for Papers for VB2018, the 28th Virus Bulletin International Conference, which will take place in Montreal, 3-5 October 2018, opened last month. It will remain open until… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2018/02/what-kind-people-attend-virus-bulletin-conferences/

Olympic Games target of malware, again

An unattributed malware attack has disrupted some computer systems of the 2018 Winter Olympics. In 1994, a computer virus also targeted the Winter Olympics.
The organisers of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics have confirmed a malware attack against their computer systems. Though the attack affected the Wi-Fi during Friday's opening… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2018/02/olympic-games-target-malware-again/

There are lessons to be learned from government websites serving cryptocurrency miners

Thousands of websites, including many sites of government organisations in the UK, the US and Sweden, were recently found to have been serving a cryptocurrency miner. More interesting than the incident itself, though, are the lessons that can be learned f…
This was awkward. On Sunday, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK's data protection regulator and thus the public body that issues fines for data breaches, was… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2018/02/there-are-lessons-be-learned-government-websites-serving-cryptocurrency-miners/

We need to continue the debate on the ethics and perils of publishing security research

An article by security researcher Collin Anderson reopens the debate on whether publishing threat analyses is always in the public interest.
At VB2015 in Prague, Juan Andrés Guerro-Saade, then of Kaspersky Lab, presented an important paper on the transformation of security researchers into intelligence brokers and how… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2018/02/we-need-continue-debate-ethics-and-perils-publishing-security-research/

WordPress users urged to manually update to fix bug that prevents automatic updating

Users of the popular WordPress content management system are urged to manually update their installation to version 4.9.4, as a bug in the previous version broke the ability to automatically install updates.
WordPress has long had a bad reputation in the security community. While this is understandable – compromised installations of the popular content management system are regularly… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2018/02/wordpress-users-urged-manually-update-fix-bug-prevents-automatic-updating/

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