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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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".

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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.

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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?

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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.

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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.

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VB2006 conference programme revealed

The VB2006 conference programme is now available.
The VB2006 conference programme is now available. VB has revealed the conference programme for VB2006, the 16th Virus Bulletin International Conference. The three-day conference… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/04/conference-programme-revealed/

Grisoft makes acquisition

AVG developer acquires Ewido Networks.
AVG developer acquires Ewido Networks. Anti-Virus vendor Grisoft has announced the acquisition of German anti-malware firm Ewido Networks. Although one of the smaller players in… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/04/grisoft-makes-acquisition/

More updating woes

Another troublesome month for security vendors.
Another troublesome month for security vendors. Last month we reported on problems for Kaspersky, Sophos and Microsoft caused by faulty updates. This month it is the turn of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/04/more-updating-woes/

Largest can-spam fine to be paid

Internet marketing firm makes $900,000 settlement.
Internet marketing firm makes $900,000 settlement. An Internet marketing firm in the US has agreed to pay $900,000 to settle a case brought against it by the Federal Trade… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/04/largest-can-spam-fine-be-paid/

Spy couple sentenced

Trojan peddlers get their comeuppance.
Trojan peddlers get their comeuppance. An Israeli couple who ran a private investigation service have been handed jail sentences and a $426,000 fine after pleading guilty to… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/04/spy-couple-sentenced/

Code of practice for Australia's ISPs

Legislative code to come into force.
Legislative code to come into force. The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) is poised to introduce a legislative code of practice for ISPs that could see hefty… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/04/code-practice-australia-s-isps/

China calculates cost of spam

Lost productivity costs dear.
Lost productivity costs dear. Spam is costing China $756m (6.069 billion yuan) every year according to estimates by the Internet Society of China (ISC). The figure, published in… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/04/china-calculates-cost-spam/

'Real' computer virus

Digital life form.
Digital life form. Researchers in the US have constructed a virtual version of the satellite tobacco mosaic virus using more than a million 'digital atoms'. The researchers used… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/04/real-computer-virus/

April

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/04/

Hotbar adware dispute settled

Symantec settles adware case
Symantec settles adware case Symantec has reached an out-of-court agreement in the pre-emptive lawsuit it filed against marketing firm Hotbar.com Inc. In the unusual case, the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/03/hotbar-adware-dispute-settled/

China to crack down on spam

China toughens up its anti-spam regulations
China toughens up its anti-spam regulations The Chinese Government has introduced a set of regulations aimed at reducing the amount of spam circulating in the country. The sending… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/03/china-crack-down-spam/

March

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/03/

Updating niggles

Troublesome month for security vendors
Troublesome month for security vendors Last month proved to be troublesome for security vendors Sophos, Microsoft and Kaspersky, as niggles with updates caused problems for their… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/03/updating-niggles/

Vigilant staff avert phishing scam

Scammers halted in their tracks
Scammers halted in their tracks A web-hosting company based in New Zealand claims that, thanks to the vigilance of its staff, it has averted a potential phishing scam targeted at… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/03/vigilant-staff-avert-phishing-scam/

Dutch police arrest Nigerian scammers

419 scamming ring uncovered
419 scamming ring uncovered Dutch police arrested 12 Nigerians in Amsterdam last month after they were found to be operating a 419 scamming ring. According to Dutch police, who… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/03/dutch-police-arrest-nigerian-scammers/

Addendum: The false positive disaster

Some concerns have arisen over the version of ClamAV tested for the article 'The false positive disaster'.
Some concerns have arisen over the version of ClamAV tested for the article 'The false positive disaster'. Some concerns have arisen over the version of ClamAV tested for the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/02/addendum-false-positive-disaster/

Hong Kong proposes anti-spam bill

Proposals for anti-spam legislation revealed.
Proposals for anti-spam legislation revealed. Hong Kong's Commerce, Industry & Technology Bureau has revealed its proposals for anti-spam legislation and launched a two-month… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/02/hong-kong-proposes-anti-spam-bill/

VB2006 call for papers

The deadline for submitting paper proposals for VB2006 is fast approaching.
The deadline for submitting paper proposals for VB2006 is fast approaching. The deadline for submitting paper proposals for VB2006 is fast approaching. Abstracts of approximately… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/02/call-papers/

Spammer to pay AOL over $5 million

Company wins case against prolific spammer.
Company wins case against prolific spammer.AOL is waiting to receive $5.6 million this month after winning its case against 25-year-old Minnesota spammer Christopher William… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/02/spammer-pay-aol-over-5-million/

February

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/02/

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