VB Blog

VB2018 paper: Little Brother is watching – we know all your secrets!

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Feb 1, 2019

At VB2018 in Montreal, researchers from Fraunhofer SIT looked at privacy vulnerabilities in legitimate Android family-tracking apps that leaked location data. Today, we publish both their paper and the video of their presentation.

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Threat intelligence teams should consider recruiting journalists

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 29, 2019

Threat intelligence teams would do well to recruit journalists, whose experience is crucial in today's threat landscape.

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From HSBC to product descriptions: the malicious emails bypassing your filters

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 28, 2019

Using data from our VBSpam lab, we looked at the malicious emails that have been missed recently by a large number of email security products.

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VB2018 paper: Inside Formbook infostealer

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 25, 2019

The Formbook information-stealing trojan may not be APT-grade malware, but its continuing spread means it can still be effective. At VB2018 in Montreal, Gabriela Nicolao, a researcher from Deloitte in Argentina, presented a short paper in which she looked at Formbook's background and history and analysed a sample of the malware. Today, we publish Gabriela's paper.

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The VB2019 CFP - how the selection procedure works

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 24, 2019

With the VB2019 Call for Papers having opened last week, we explain how the selection procedure works, which may help you during your abstract submission.

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VB2018 paper: From Hacking Team to hacked team to…?

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 18, 2019

Today we publish the VB2018 paper and video by ESET researcher Filip Kafka, who looked at the new malware by Hacking Team, after the company had recovered from the 2015 breach.

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The spam that is hardest to block is often the most damaging

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 17, 2019

We see a lot of spam in the VBSpam test lab, and we also see how well such emails are being blocked by email security products. Worryingly, it is often the emails with a malicious attachment or a phishing link that are most likely to be missed.

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Throwback Thursday: We're all doomed

Posted by   Helen Martin on   Jan 17, 2019

Mydoom turns 15 this month, and is still being seen in email attachments. This Throwback Thursday we look back to March 2004, when Gabor Szappanos tracked the rise of W32/Mydoom.

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VB2019 call for papers - now open!

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 15, 2019

Have you analysed a new online threat? Do you know a new way to defend against such threats? Are you tasked with securing systems and fending off attacks? The call for papers for VB2019 is now open and we want to hear from you!

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VB2018 paper: Unpacking the packed unpacker: reversing an Android anti-analysis library

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 14, 2019

Today, we publish a VB2018 paper by Google researcher Maddie Stone in which she looks at one of the most interesting anti-analysis native libraries in the Android ecosystem. We also release the recording of Maddie's presentation.

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Virus writers continue targeting Microsoft's latest ideas

Another piece of malware for MS Powershell.
Another piece of malware for MS Powershell. Another piece of malware for Microsoft's Powershell is making the news. The script virus exploits the new command shell, formerly known… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/08/virus-writers-continue-targeting-microsoft-s-latest-ideas/

Apple releases patches - Mac debate rumbles on

Are Macs safer than Windows PCs? Oh yes they are... Oh no they're not.. etc.
Are Macs safer than Windows PCs? Oh yes they are... Oh no they're not.. etc. Spokespeople for various AV companies continue to add to the 'are Macs safer?' debate kicked off last… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/08/apple-releases-patches-mac-debate-rumbles/

Supermarket scammed by hacker employees

Supermarket sweep.
Supermarket sweep. In a plot mirroring the Mike Judge comedy Office Space, a team of supermarket employees in Manama created trojan software to tweak company databases and steal… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/08/supermarket-scammed-hacker-employees/

Rain of phish hits UK

Single botnet responsible for 8 million phishing emails.
Single botnet responsible for 8 million phishing emails. A single botnet has unleashed over 8 million phishing emails on UK targets over the last few days, according to mail… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/08/rain-phish-hits-uk/

Hi-tech phreaking and other VoIP woes

Security issues with VoIP technology revealed at Black Hat USA.
Security issues with VoIP technology revealed at Black Hat USA. Security issues with VoIP technology, allowing hackers to access corporate services and sell them on, as well as… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/08/hi-tech-phreaking-and-other-voip-woes/

F-Secure announces healthy figures

Finnish AV firm shows strong performance.
Finnish AV firm shows strong performance.F-Secure's latest financial announcement reports a 35% growth in revenues, and an 88% growth in operating profits. The success is put down… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/08/f-secure-announces-healthy-figures/

Symantec, McAfee suffer bugs

Norton and VirusScan afflicted.
Norton and VirusScan afflicted.Symantec has issued details of a minor bug in its Norton AV software - a recent update left some users seeing confusing messages claiming the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/08/symantec-mcafee-suffer-bugs/

Interpol site spoofed

Beware fake international police organizations...
Beware fake international police organizations... Practitioners of ur-phish, the 419 scam, have set up a doctored mirror of Interpol's website, as a ruse to ease victims' worries… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/08/interpol-site-spoofed/

BBC hypes 'more than 95% spam rate'

Shock figure drawn from dubious source.
Shock figure drawn from dubious source. The BBC online news website has published an article under the headline 'More than 95% of e-mail is "junk"'. The report, which was linked… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/08/bbc-hypes-more-95-spam-rate/

Security products scoop sales top ten

Strong sales for security products in June.
Strong sales for security products in June. A hefty seven of the top 10 software products sold over the counter in June were security-related, according to sales tracking… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/08/security-products-scoop-sales-top-ten/

Market consolidation

Mergers in the anti-spam market.
Mergers in the anti-spam market. Anti-spam and messaging security company CipherTrust announced last month that it is to be acquired by Secure Computing.CipherTrust - which… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/08/market-consolidation/

Anti-phishing best practices

Anti-phishing recommendations for ISPs and mailbox providers.
Anti-phishing recommendations for ISPs and mailbox providers. A new set of best practices to combat phishing has been released by the Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG) and… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/08/anti-phishing-best-practices/

Linux magazine prints rootkit how-to

Arming sys admins with all they need to know to write a rootkit...
Arming sys admins with all they need to know to write a rootkit... Imaginatively named magazine for Linux users Linux Magazine has published an article entitled 'How to write a… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/08/linux-magazine-prints-rootkit-how/

New and revised laws

New anti-spam laws prepared and old ones revisited.
New anti-spam laws prepared and old ones revisited. One of the world's top spam-sending hot spots is currently preparing for the launch of its first anti-spam laws. Together with… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/08/new-and-revised-laws/

August issue of VB published

The August issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download.
The August issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download. The August 2006 issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to browse online or… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/08/august-issue-vb-published/

August

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/08/

Supply of data to spammers stopped

Database thief charged.
Database thief charged. A US man has been charged with stealing a database of US physicians with the intention of selling it on to spammers. Forty-six-year-old William Bailey, Jr… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/08/supply-data-spammers-stopped/

More on the XP comparative

Setting the record straight.
Setting the record straight. In VB's June 2006 comparative review it was reported that the Norman product behaved badly, with repeated crashes on dealing with infected or… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/08/more-xp-comparative/

Sysinternals goes the Microsoft way

Microsoft acquires company behind the Sysinternals range of freeware tools.
Microsoft acquires company behind the Sysinternals range of freeware tools.Microsoft announced the acquisition last month of privately held Winternals Software LP - the company… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/08/sysinternals-goes-microsoft-way/

Phone phishes

Watch out for fake SMS messages.
Watch out for fake SMS messages. A sneaky new phishing technique emerged last month, in which initial contact is made with victims via SMS text message. In the attack, an SMS… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/07/phone-phishes/

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