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.

Read more  

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.

Read more  

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.

Read more  

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.

Read more  

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.

Read more  

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".

Read more  

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.

Read more  

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?

Read more  

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.

Read more  

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.

Read more  

Search blog

Latest VBSpam test results show drop in spam catch rates again

Downward trend in performance continues.
Downward trend in performance continues. In the latest VBSpam comparative test of anti-spam products, 21 anti-spam solutions achieved a VBSpam award, but for the majority of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2012/07/latest-vbspam-test-results-show-drop-spam-catch-rates-again/

Cybercriminals offering service flooding email, phone and SMS

DDoS-type attack could seriously disrupt business.
DDoS-type attack could seriously disrupt business. A new service is being offered on underground forums where between 25,000 and 100,000 emails are being sent to an email account… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2012/07/cybercriminals-offering-service-flooding-email-phone-and-sms/

Grum botnet's command-and-control servers shut down

Spam-sending botnet believed to be third largest in the world.
Spam-sending botnet believed to be third largest in the world. International co-operation between a number of parties has led to all command-and-control servers of the 'Grum'… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2012/07/grum-botnet-s-command-and-control-servers-shut-down/

Thousands of websites infected with .htaccess redirect attack

Various anti-detection methods applied.
Various anti-detection methods applied. Thousands of legitimate websites have seen .htaccess files compromised and as a consequence have been used to serve the 'Milisenco' trojan,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2012/07/thousands-websites-infected-htaccess-redirect-attack/

July issue of VB published

The July issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download.
The July issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download. The July 2012 issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to browse online or download… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2012/07/july-issue-vb-published/

July

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2012/07/

VBConnect: the Virus Bulletin conference goes social

New tool aims to enhance conference networking opportunities.
New tool aims to enhance conference networking opportunities. For many in the security industry, the Virus Bulletin conference is the highlight of their busy events calendar, and… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2012/06/vbconnect-conference-goes-social/

June issue of VB published

The June issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download.
The June issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download. The June 2012 issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to browse online or download… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2012/06/june-issue-vb-published/

June

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2012/06/

Flame worm one of the most complex threats ever discovered

Malware possibly used for cyber-espionage.
Malware possibly used for cyber-espionage. The jury is out on whether 'Flame' (also known as 'Flamer' or 'Skywiper') is 'the most lethal cyberweapon to date' as some have claimed,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2012/05/flame-worm-one-most-complex-threats-ever-discovered/

Microsoft to publish security bulletins in CVRF format

Standard will streamline process of reviewing patches.
Standard will streamline process of reviewing patches. Software giant Microsoft has announced that it has started to publish its monthly security bulletins in the CVRF format.… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2012/05/microsoft-publish-security-bulletins-cvrf-format/

FBI warns against malware installed via hotel networks

Malware poses as fake update of popular software.
Malware poses as fake update of popular software. The FBI has warned travellers against fake software updates served through hotel connections which actually attempt to install… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2012/05/fbi-warns-against-malware-installed-hotel-networks/

Android malware served via compromised websites

Malware downloaded automatically, but requires user permission to be installed.
Malware downloaded automatically, but requires user permission to be installed. Researchers at mobile security company Lookout have discovered a number of compromised websites that… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2012/05/android-malware-served-compromised-websites/

PayPal spam leads to exploit kit

Clicking on links leads to Blackhole rather than phishing site.
Clicking on links leads to Blackhole rather than phishing site. Fake PayPal receipts were being spammed out this morning, with links leading to a version of the Blackhole exploit… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2012/05/paypal-spam-leads-exploit-kit/

May

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2012/05/

May issue of VB published

The May issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download.
The May issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download. The May 2012 issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to browse online or download… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2012/05/may-issue-vb-published/

Significant rise in malicious spam and phishing

Over one quarter of malicious emails contain eight-year-old malware.
Over one quarter of malicious emails contain eight-year-old malware. Email security firm eleven has reported a significant rise in both malicious emails and phishing emails in the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2012/04/significant-rise-malicious-spam-and-phishing/

Researchers find many popular sites serving drive-by downloads

10 million people exposed to malware served by 25,000 most visited sites alone.
10 million people exposed to malware served by 25,000 most visited sites alone. Researchers at Barracuda Labs have found that 58 among the 25,000 most popular websites were serving… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2012/04/researchers-find-many-popular-sites-serving-drive-downloads/

Android malware hides inside JPG image

New LeNa variant no longer depends on rooted devices.
New LeNa variant no longer depends on rooted devices. Researchers at Lookout have discovered a new version of the 'LeNa' trojan for Android that does not require user interaction… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2012/04/android-malware-hides-inside-jpg-image/

April issue of VB published

The April issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download.
The April issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download. The April 2012 issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to browse online or… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2012/04/april-issue-vb-published/

We have placed cookies on your device in order to improve the functionality of this site, as outlined in our cookies policy. However, you may delete and block all cookies from this site and your use of the site will be unaffected. By continuing to browse this site, you are agreeing to Virus Bulletin's use of data as outlined in our privacy policy.