VB Blog

VB2019 paper: Fantastic Information and Where to Find it: A guidebook to open-source OT reconnaissance

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Nov 22, 2019

A VB2019 paper by FireEye researcher Daniel Kapellmann Zafra explained how open source intelligence (OSINT) can be used to learn crucial details of the inner workings of many a system. Today we publish Daniel's paper and the recording of his presentation.

Read more  

VB2019 paper: Different ways to cook a crab: GandCrab Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) analysed in depth

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Nov 21, 2019

Though active for not much longer than a year, GandCrab had been one of the most successful ransomware operations. In a paper presented at VB2019 in London, McAfee researchers John Fokker and Alexandre Mundo looked at the malware code, its evolution and the affiliate scheme behind it. Today we publish both their paper and the recording of their presentation.

Read more  

VB2019 paper: Domestic Kitten: an Iranian surveillance program

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Nov 18, 2019

At VB2019 in London, Check Point researchers Aseel Kayal and Lotem Finkelstein presented a paper detailing an Iranian operation they named 'Domestic Kitten' that used Android apps for targeted surveillance. Today we publish their paper and the video of their presentation.

Read more  

VB2019 video: Discretion in APT: recent APT attack on crypto exchange employees

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Nov 18, 2019

At VB2019 in London, LINE's HeungSoo Kang explained how cryptocurrency exchanges had been attacked using Firefox zero-days. Today, we publish the video of his presentation.

Read more  

VB2019 paper: DNS on fire

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Nov 7, 2019

In a paper presented at VB2019, Cisco Talos researchers Warren Mercer and Paul Rascagneres looked at two recent attacks against DNS infrastructure: DNSpionage and Sea Turtle. Today we publish their paper and the recording of their presentation.

Read more  

German Dridex spam campaign is unfashionably large

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Nov 6, 2019

VB has analysed a malicious spam campaign targeting German-speaking users with obfuscated Excel malware that would likely download Dridex but that mostly stood out through its size.

Read more  

Paper: Dexofuzzy: Android malware similarity clustering method using opcode sequence

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Nov 5, 2019

We publish a paper by researchers from ESTsecurity in South Korea, who describe a fuzzy hashing algorithm for clustering Android malware datasets.

Read more  

Emotet continues to bypass many email security products

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Nov 4, 2019

Having returned from a summer hiatus, Emotet is back targeting inboxes and, as seen in the VBSpam test lab, doing a better job than most other malicious campaigns at bypassing email security products.

Read more  

VB2019 paper: We need to talk - opening a discussion about ethics in infosec

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Nov 1, 2019

Those working in the field of infosec are often faced with ethical dilemmas that are impossible to avoid. Today, we publish a VB2019 paper by Kaspersky researcher Ivan Kwiatkowski looking at ethics in infosec as well as the recording of Ivan's presentation.

Read more  

Stalkerware poses particular challenges to anti-virus products

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Oct 31, 2019

Malware used in domestic abuse situations is a growing threat, and the standard way for anti-virus products to handle such malware may not be good enough. But that doesn't mean there isn't an important role for anti-virus to play.

Read more  

Search blog

Latest VGrep

The latest version of the virus name lookup tool - VGrep, is now available.
The latest version of the virus name lookup tool - VGrep, is now available. VGrep is a system produced in an attempt to clear up some of the confusion surrounding the naming of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/12/latest-vgrep/

No deal for AOL employee

Judge refuses to accept guilty plea.
Judge refuses to accept guilty plea. A federal judge has refused to accept the guilty plea of a former AOL employee charged with selling the company's customer email list to… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/12/no-deal-aol-employee/

Teen brought to book for Randex

British teenager sentenced.
British teenager sentenced. A 16-year-old British teenager has been given a six-month suspended sentence for his part in distributing the Randex worm. A total of four suspects… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/12/teen-brought-book-randex/

Deal for AOL employee

AOL worker accused of selling customer email lists offered deal.
AOL worker accused of selling customer email lists offered deal. A former AOL employee charged with selling the company's customer email list to spammers has been offered a plea… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/12/deal-aol-employee/

Trend ousts McAfee on Hotmail

Trend Micro to take over from McAfee as new provider of virus scanning for MSN.
Trend Micro to take over from McAfee as new provider of virus scanning for MSN. Trend Micro has announced that it is to be the new provider of virus scanning for Microsoft's MSN… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/12/trend-ousts-mcafee-hotmail/

ISP wins $1 billion against spammers

Largest judgement against spammers to date.
Largest judgement against spammers to date. A company in Iowa has been awarded a total of more than $1 billion in what is believed to be the largest judgement to date against… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/12/isp-wins-1-billion-against-spammers/

Virus Bulletin RSS feeds now support Live Bookmarks

Virus Bulletin RSS feeds now support 'Live bookmarks' allowing you to browse our latest headlines directly from your browsers bookmarks menu.
Virus Bulletin RSS feeds now support 'Live bookmarks' allowing you to browse our latest headlines directly from your browsers bookmarks menu. The Virus Bulletin RSS feeds now… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/12/rss-feeds-now-support-live-bookmarks/

GIANT purchase for Microsoft

Microsoft buys anti-spyware provider.
Microsoft buys anti-spyware provider. Microsoft announced yesterday that it has acquired anti-spyware firm GIANT Company Software Inc. Microsoft says it plans to use… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/12/giant-purchase-microsoft/

Anti-spam law 'unconstitutional'

Judge says Maryland anti-spam law is flawed.
Judge says Maryland anti-spam law is flawed. A judge has ruled that Maryland's anti-spam law is flawed because it violates the commerce clause of the US Constitution. The… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/12/anti-spam-law-unconstitutional/

Symantec to acquire Veritas?

Just in time for Christmas?
Just in time for Christmas? Symantec may be close to acquiring data storage firm Veritas, according to reports circulating on the Internet. AV firm Symantec, which has something… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/12/symantec-acquire-veritas/

Spyware-led investigations

Australian police given power to use spyware.
Australian police given power to use spyware. Police in Australia have been awarded the right to use spyware for evidence-gathering, thanks to a new law passed last week. Under… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/12/spyware-led-investigations/

DDoS stunt over

Lycos ends its 'make love not spam' campaign - but not before the file had been trojanised...
Lycos ends its 'make love not spam' campaign - but not before the file had been trojanised... Lycos has announced that it has ended its controversial 'Make Love not Spam'… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/12/ddos-stunt-over/

More spammers for the slammer?

Microsoft continues to make good use of its legal resources.
Microsoft continues to make good use of its legal resources. Microsoft has filed seven new lawsuits against spammers. The company is suing the individuals (who currently remain… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/12/more-spammers-slammer/

Hotmail originator turns to anti-spam

Sabeer Bhatia, the man behind Hotmail, has announced that he has invested in an anti-spam company
Sabeer Bhatia, the man behind Hotmail, has announced that he has invested in an anti-spam company Sabeer Bhatia, the man behind Hotmail, has announced that he has invested in an… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/12/hotmail-originator-turns-anti-spam/

Errata - Windows Server 2003 comparative review

VB regrets that three mistakes crept into the Comparative review published in the November issue.
VB regrets that three mistakes crept into the Comparative review published in the November issue. The mistakes were as follows: The version number for Sophos Anti Virus should… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/12/errata-windows-server-2003-comparative-review/

Academic research journal

Announcement and first call for papers of the European Research Journal in Computer Virology
Announcement and first call for papers of the European Research Journal in Computer Virology October saw the announcement and first call for papers of the European Research… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/12/academic-research-journal/

Most-spammed sees end in sight

Bill Gates says he hopes to have the spam problem under control within two years - again.
Bill Gates says he hopes to have the spam problem under control within two years - again. The world's most spammed email recipient, Bill Gates, said last month that he hopes to… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/12/most-spammed-sees-end-sight/

News by email

New twice-monthly email newsletter dedicated to news and technical information about the spam and anti-spam arena launched.
New twice-monthly email newsletter dedicated to news and technical information about the spam and anti-spam arena launched. Last month saw the inaugural issue of a twice-monthly… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/12/news-email/

VB2005 call for papers

Virus Bulletin is seeking submissions from those wishing to present at VB2005 in Dublin - so set aside some time between the season's festive parties to get writing!
Virus Bulletin is seeking submissions from those wishing to present at VB2005 in Dublin - so set aside some time between the season's festive parties to get writing! Virus… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/12/call-papers/

FBI's virus blunder

Virus infection nearly blew the cover on a secret FBI fraud investigation two years ago.
Virus infection nearly blew the cover on a secret FBI fraud investigation two years ago. It has come to light that a virus infection nearly blew the cover on a secret FBI fraud… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/12/fbi-s-virus-blunder/

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.