VB Blog

DMARC: an imperfect solution that can make a big difference

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jul 24, 2017

US Senator Ron Wyden has asked the Department of Homeland Security to implement DMARC. Martijn Grooten looks at what difference this could make for phishing attacks impersonating the US federal governent.

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Advanced and inept persistent threats to be discussed at VB2017

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jul 20, 2017

Unsurprisingly given today's threat landscape, the VB2017 programme contains several talks on various advanced persistent threats - but also a talk on what may be the polar opposite of such threats: an inept persistent threat.

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Password security is 1% choosing a half-decent password, 99% not using it anywhere else

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jul 18, 2017

Password security advice focuses too much on password strength and too little on avoiding password reuse, Martijn Grooten argues.

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Save the dates: VB2018 to take place 3-5 October 2018

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jul 17, 2017

Though the location will remain a secret for a few more months, we are pleased to announce the dates for VB2018, the 28th Virus Bulletin International Conference.

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Review: BSides Athens 2017

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jul 10, 2017

The second edition of BSides Athens saw a great and varied programme presented in the Greek capital. VB's Martijn Grooten was pleased to attend.

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Let's not help attackers by spreading fear, uncertainty and doubt

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jul 7, 2017

Spreading 'FUD' in the wake of cyber-attacks is never a good idea. But it's even worse when this might be one of the attackers' implicit goals.

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Calling next-gen security researchers: student discount for VB2017 announced

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jul 7, 2017

For the third year in a row, we have set aside a limited number of student tickets for the Virus Bulletin conference, to allow 'next-generation' security researchers to experience one of the most important gatherings of security researchers around the world.

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Nominations opened for fourth Péter Szőr Award

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jul 4, 2017

Virus Bulletin has opened nominations for the fourth annual Péter Szőr Award, for the best piece of technical security research published between 1 July 2016 and 30 June 2017.

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VB2016 paper: BlackEnergy – what we really know about the notorious cyber attacks

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jul 3, 2017

According to some researchers, there is some evidence linking the recent (Not)Petya attacks with the BlackEnergy group - which became infamous for its targeted attacks against the Ukraine. At VB2016, ESET researchers Anton Cherepanov and Robert Lipovsky spoke about BlackEnergy, providing an overview of the group's attacks. Today, we publish their paper.

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Security advice in the wake of WannaCry and Not(Petya)

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jun 30, 2017

As WannaCry and (Not)Petya have shown, malware attacks can do a lot of damage. So is staying safe just a case of following good security advice?

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January

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2012/01/

Spammers using Google open redirect

Vulnerability 'not worthy of bug bounty program'.
Vulnerability 'not worthy of bug bounty program'. Researchers at Solera Labs have discovered spammers using an open redirect at Google to hide the final destination of their link… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/12/spammers-using-google-open-redirect/

'Nitro attacks' continue

PoisonIvy trojan sent attached to email warning about the same trojan.
PoisonIvy trojan sent attached to email warning about the same trojan. Researchers at Symantec report that the 'Nitro attacks', which target a number of large companies, many of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/12/nitro-attacks-continue/

Compromised websites used to mine bitcoins

In-the-browser botnet turns victims' CPU cycles into cash for the attackers.
In-the-browser botnet turns victims' CPU cycles into cash for the attackers. Researchers have discovered a compromised website where a piece of JavaScript has been included that is… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/12/compromised-websites-used-mine-bitcoins/

December issue of VB published

The December issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download.
The December issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download. The December 2011 issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to browse online or… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/12/december-issue-vb-published/

December

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/12/

Recently discovered Java vulnerability being added to exploit kit

Kit 'patched' to include latest exploit; users urged to patch their software too.
Kit 'patched' to include latest exploit; users urged to patch their software too. Security researcher and journalist Brian Krebs has found evidence that a recently discovered… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/11/recently-discovered-java-vulnerability-being-added-exploit-kit/

SMS trojan targets Android users in eight western countries

Will another piece of mobile malware convince Google manager of the seriousness of the threat?
Will another piece of mobile malware convince Google manager of the seriousness of the threat? Researchers at Kaspersky have discovered an SMS trojan for Android phones that… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/11/sms-trojan-targets-android-users-eight-western-countries/

Latest VBSpam certification results published

Latest VBSpam results published - full report now also available.
Latest VBSpam results published - full report now also available. The results of the November VBSpam comparative review have been announced, with more distinction showing between… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/11/latest-vbspam-certification-results-published/

IETF expedites publication of RFC describing feedback loop recommendations

Document fast-tracked to be published shortly before the sad passing of its author J.D. Falk.
Document fast-tracked to be published shortly before the sad passing of its author J.D. Falk. The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) has published an RFC detailing current… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/11/ietf-expedites-publication-rfc-describing-feedback-loop-recommendations/

South Korea to ask ISPs to block port 25 traffic

Experts sceptical about long-term effects on spam levels.
Experts sceptical about long-term effects on spam levels. South Korea intends to require ISPs to block all outbound traffic on port 25 from anything but the "official" mail… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/11/south-korea-ask-isps-block-port-25-traffic/

Most free Android anti-virus 'useless', find testers

AV-Test comparative sees minimal value in free mobile protection.
AV-Test comparative sees minimal value in free mobile protection. In a comparative test run by independent anti-malware testing specialist AV-Test.org, the majority of free Android… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/11/most-free-android-anti-virus-useless-find-testers/

'Largest takedown ever' sees six arrested

Millions made through 'DNSChanger' malware.
Millions made through 'DNSChanger' malware. Six Estonian nationals have been arrested for taking part in a cybercrime ring that made money through DNS-changing malware that had… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/11/largest-takedown-ever-sees-six-arrested/

Significant rise in Chinese phishing sites

Phishers shown to care little about domain names.
Phishers shown to care little about domain names. In its latest 'Global Phishing Survey', the Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG) reports a significant increase in phishing sites… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/11/significant-rise-chinese-phishing-sites/

Support scammers up their game

Websites and Facebook accounts created to make callers appear more legitimate.
Websites and Facebook accounts created to make callers appear more legitimate. 'Support call scammers' have started to use professional-looking websites and social media accounts… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/11/support-scammers-their-game/

DNS poisoning attack targeting Brazilian customers

ISP employee suspected of changing DNS cache.
ISP employee suspected of changing DNS cache. Millions of Internet users in Brazil may have been exposed to malware after the DNS caches of their ISPs were modified to redirect… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/11/dns-poisoning-attack-targeting-brazilian-customers/

November issue of VB published

The November issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download.
The November issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download. The November 2011 issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to browse online or… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/11/november-issue-vb-published/

November

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/11/

'Meta-phish' uses attached form to evade web filters

Landing page contains clear warning.
Landing page contains clear warning. A phishing email targeting Austrian credit card users evades web filters by using an attached HTML form, but thankfully the landing page on the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/10/meta-phish-uses-attached-form-evade-web-filters/

'Son of Stuxnet' trojan found

'Duqu' used in targeted attacks to steal specific information.
'Duqu' used in targeted attacks to steal specific information. Researchers at both Symantec and McAfee have discovered a new Remote Access Trojan (RAT) with strong links to Stuxnet… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/10/son-stuxnet-trojan-found/

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