VB Blog

VB2019 presentation: Attor: spy platform with curious GSM fingerprinting

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Feb 11, 2020

Attor is a newly discovered cyber-espionage platform, use of which dates back to at least 2014 and which focuses on diplomatic missions and governmental institutions. Details of Attor were presented at VB2019 in London by ESET researcher Zuzana Hromcová. Today we release the recording of Zuzana's presentation.

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Why we encourage newcomers and seasoned presenters alike to submit a paper for VB2020

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Feb 6, 2020

With the call for papers for VB2020 currently open, we explain why, whether you've never presented before or you're a conference circuit veteran, if you have some interesting research to share with the community we want to hear from you!

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VB2019 paper: The cake is a lie! Uncovering the secret world of malware-like cheats in video games

Posted by   Helen Martin on   Feb 5, 2020

At VB2019 in London, Kaspersky researcher Santiago Pontiroli presented a paper on the growing illegal economy around video game cheats and its parallels with the malware industry. Today we publish both Santiago's paper and the recording of his presentation.

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VB2019 paper: Rich headers: leveraging the mysterious artifact of the PE format

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Jan 31, 2020

In a paper presented at VB2019 in London, ESET researchers Peter Kálnai and Michal Poslušný discussed the subject of rich headers and how it can be useful in malware research. Today we publish both their paper and the recording of their presentation.

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VB2019 paper: Medical IoT for diabetes and cybercrime

Posted by   Helen Martin on   Jan 28, 2020

At VB2019 in London, Fortinet researcher Axelle Apvrille presented a paper co-written with Aamir Lakhani that looked at the threats faced by those who use medical IoT devices to help manage their diabetes. Today we publish the researchers' paper, as well as the recording of Axelle's presentation.

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VB2019 paper: Spoofing in the reeds with Rietspoof

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Jan 24, 2020

In a VB2019 paper Avast researchers Jan Sirmer, Luigino Camastra and Adolf Středa revealed full details of the Rietspoof malware. Today we publish their paper and the recording of the presentation given by Jan and Luigino in London.

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New paper: Behind the scenes of GandCrab's operation

Posted by   Helen Martin on   Jan 20, 2020

The GandCrab ransomware regularly updated itself to newer versions to stay ahead of decryptors released by security researchers, and regularly included taunts, jokes and references to security organizations in its code. In a new paper, the AhnLab Security Analysis Team reveal the full details of the battle that went on between GandCrab and AhnLab.

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VB2019 paper: King of the hill: nation-state counterintelligence for victim deconfliction

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Jan 16, 2020

At VB2019 Juan Andres Guerrero-Saade looked at nation-state actors using threat intelligence for victim deconfliction. Today we publish both his paper and the recording of his presentation.

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The VB2020 call for papers - how it works

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Jan 14, 2020

With the VB2020 Call for Papers now open, we explain how the selection procedure works, which may help you during your abstract submission.

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VB2019 presentation: Targeted attacks through ISPs

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Jan 13, 2020

In 2019 we saw a rise in the number of targeted malware infections spread via ISPs and service providers. In a last-minute paper presented at VB2019 in London, Kaspersky researcher Denis Legezo discussed the details of a number of such cases. Today we release the recording of Denis' presentation.

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Paper: Hype heuristics, signatures and the death of AV (again)

David Harley responds to anti-malware's many criticasters.
David Harley responds to anti-malware's many criticasters. Anti-virus is dead. After all, in the current threat landscape, who would use a system that relies on signatures of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/08/paper-hype-heuristics-signatures-and-death-av-again/

Throwback Thursday: Palm Breach

This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back to July 2000, when concerns were growing about malicious threats to the Palm Personal Digital Assistant.
This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back to July 2000, when concerns were growing about malicious threats to the Palm Personal Digital Assistant. In the 1980s, no one left… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/08/throwback-thursday-palm-breach/

August

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/08/

Compromised site serves Nuclear exploit kit together with fake BSOD

Support scammers not lying about a malware infection for a change.
Support scammers not lying about a malware infection for a change. During our work on the development of the VBWeb tests, which will be started soon, we came across an interesting… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/07/compromised-site-serves-nuclear-exploit-kit-together-fake-bsod/

Throwback Thursday: Riotous Assembly

This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back to January 1994, shortly after Cyber Riot had emerged as the first virus capable of infecting the Windows kernel.
This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back to January 1994, shortly after Cyber Riot had emerged as the first virus capable of infecting the Windows kernel. Today, malware… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/07/throwback-thursday-riotous-assembly/

Stagefright vulnerability leaves 950 million Android devices vulnerable to remote code execution

The operating system has been patched, but it is unclear whether users will receive those patches.
The operating system has been patched, but it is unclear whether users will receive those patches. Researchers at mobile security firm Zimperium have discovered a remote code… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/07/stagefright-vulnerability-leaves-950-million-android-devices-vulnerable-remote-code-execution/

Throwback Thursday: Sizewell B: Fact or Fiction?

This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back to 1993, when VB asked the key question: could a virus compromise safety at one of Britain's nuclear power plants?
This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back to 1993, when VB asked the key question: could a virus compromise safety at one of Britain's nuclear power plants? 2010 saw the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/07/throwback-thursday-sizewell-b-fact-or-fiction/

Call for last-minute papers for VB2015 announced

Ten speaking slots waiting to be filled with presentations on 'hot' security topics.
Ten speaking slots waiting to be filled with presentations on 'hot' security topics. There's never a dull moment in the world of IT security. Whether you think the breach of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/07/call-last-minute-papers-announced/

'NOMORE' attack makes RC4 a little weaker again

No good reason to continue using the stream cipher, yet attacks remain impractical.
No good reason to continue using the stream cipher, yet attacks remain impractical. Researchers from the KU Leuven have presented a new attack against the RC4 stream cipher called… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/07/nomore-attack-makes-rc4-little-weaker-again/

Spam levels fall below 50% for the first time in 12 years

Decline not necessarily good news for spam filters.
Decline not necessarily good news for spam filters. For the first time in 12 years, less than half of email traffic is spam, Symantec reports in the latest issue of its monthly… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/07/spam-levels-fall-below-50-first-time-12-years/

Throwback Thursday: What You Pay For...

This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back to 1996, when VB looked at what was available to protect your computer free of charge.
This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back to 1996, when VB looked at what was available to protect your computer free of charge. Today, the 'freemium' business model is a… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/07/throwback-thursday-what-you-pay/

Paper: Dridex in the Wild

Meng Su explains how Dridex works and how it communicates with its C&C server.
Meng Su explains how Dridex works and how it communicates with its C&C server. A descendant of Cridex, Dridex was first written about a little less than a year ago, by S21sec and… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/07/paper-dridex-wild/

Those doing bad things deserve privacy too

Hacking Team leakers should have taken a leaf out of Snowden's book.
Hacking Team leakers should have taken a leaf out of Snowden's book. I can understand, at least in principle, that targeted malware could be used by law enforcement agencies for… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/07/those-doing-bad-things-deserve-privacy-too/

Throwback Thursday: Cabirn Fever

This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back to 2004, when the first worm to spread from mobile phone to mobile phone appeared.
This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back to 2004, when the first worm to spread from mobile phone to mobile phone appeared. Since it first appeared almost exactly 11 years… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/07/throwback-thursday-cabirn-fever/

Little sympathy for breached Hacking Team

Lists of customers, source code and zero-day vulnerabilities made public.
Lists of customers, source code and zero-day vulnerabilities made public. The biggest security story of this week, and probably one of the biggest of the year, is the hack of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/07/little-sympathy-breached-hacking-team/

Throwback Thursday: The Updating Game

This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back to 1997, when automatic updates of AV software were not the norm.
This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back to 1997, when automatic updates of AV software were not the norm. We all know that the malware scene has changed almost beyond… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/07/throwback-thursday-updating-game/

July

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/07/

Nominations opened for second Péter Ször Award

'Brilliant mind and a true gentleman' commemorated through annual award for technical security research.
'Brilliant mind and a true gentleman' commemorated through annual award for technical security research. During VB2014 in Seattle, we presented the first annual Péter Ször Award to… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/06/nominations-opened-second-p-ter-sz-r-award/

Latest spam filter test sees significant drop in catch rates

Despite a drop in catch rates, 15 products earn a VBSpam award, with four earning a VBSpam+ award.
Despite a drop in catch rates, 15 products earn a VBSpam award, with four earning a VBSpam+ award. Spam is notoriously volatile and thus, while we like to make the news headlines… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/06/latest-spam-filter-test-sees-significant-drop-catch-rates/

VB2014 paper: Quantifying maliciousness in Alexa top-ranked domains

Paul Royal looks at malware served through the most popular websites.
Paul Royal looks at malware served through the most popular websites. Though VB2014 took place nine months ago, most of the papers presented during the conference remain very… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/06/paper-quantifying-maliciousness-alexa-top-ranked-domains/

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