VB Blog

VB2016 Call for Papers - Frequently Asked Questions

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Mar 11, 2016

Are you interested in submitting an abstract for VB2016? We've answered some frequently asked questions about the Call for Papers, which closes next week.

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Throwback Thursday: Hash Woes

Posted by   Helen Martin on   Mar 10, 2016

This Throwback Thursday we go back to 2004, when the entire crypto community was abuzz with the news that a group of Chinese researchers had demonstrated flaws in a whole set of hash functions - VB took a closer look to clarify the situation and draw lessons from the incident.

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VB2015 paper: Mobile Banking Fraud via SMS in North America: Who's Doing it and How

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Mar 2, 2016

Though SMS may have been claimed dead many time, it is still very much alive, and quite popular among mobile phishers. At VB2015, Adaptive Mobile researcher Cathal Mc Daid presented a paper various mobile phishing campaigns targeting North American banks.

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Throwback Thursday: Viruses on the Internet

Posted by   Helen Martin on   Feb 25, 2016

This Throwback Thursday VB heads back to 1996 when - long before the days of driveby downloads and exploit kits - VB published a report on the state of viruses on the Internet.

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RSA and BSides San Francisco

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Feb 24, 2016

Next week, Virus Bulletin Editor Martijn Grooten will attend the RSA conference in San Francisco, where he will give a talk entitled "How Broken Is Our Crypto Really?" He will also speak at BSides San Francisco, where he will give a talk entitled "Elliptic Curve Cryptography for Those Who are Afraid of Mathematics".

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Virus Bulletin publishes first web filter test report

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Feb 19, 2016

After a lot of preparation, Virus Bulletin is proud to have published the first "VBWeb" comparative web filter test report, in which products' ability to block web-based malware and drive-by downloads was tested. Fortinet's FortiGuard appliance was the first product to achieve a VBWeb certification.

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VB2015 paper: Will Android Trojans, Worms or Rootkits Survive in SEAndroid and Containerization?

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Feb 18, 2016

Sophos researchers Rowland Yu and William Lee look at whether recent security enhancements to Android, such as SEAndroid and containerization, will be enough to defeat future malware threats.

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First six VB2016 sponsors announced

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Feb 17, 2016

Virus Bulletin is excited to announce the first six sponsors for VB2016, the 26th international Virus Bulletin conference, which will take place in Denver, Colorado, USA 5-7 October 2016.

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VB2015 paper: Sizing cybercrime: incidents and accidents, hints and allegations

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Feb 11, 2016

Cybercrime is big. But how big is it really? In a paper presented at VB2015 and together with the presentation video published on our website today, ESET researcher Stephen Cobb looks at previous studies that attempt the size of cybercrime and asks why we need such data and what can be done better.

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Throwback Thursday: The Thin Blue Line

Posted by   Helen Martin on   Feb 11, 2016

This Throwback Thursday, VB heads back to 1994 when UK Fraud Squad detectives started making inroads into the most puzzling 'Whodunnit' since the Great Train Robbery. Had an outbreak of computer crime swept Britain? No, it was all part of a police training program.

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Chinese internet firm suspended

One-year suspension issued to mobile phone picture services supplier as punishment for carrying out unsolicited marketing.
One-year suspension issued to mobile phone picture services supplier as punishment for carrying out unsolicited marketing.Chinese Internet company Sohu.com will be subject to a… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/08/chinese-internet-firm-suspended/

Security of hash functions called into question

The encryption field was thrown into a frenzy at the end of last month when the security of hash functions MD5, SHA-0 and SHA-1 was called into question.
The encryption field was thrown into a frenzy at the end of last month when the security of hash functions MD5, SHA-0 and SHA-1 was called into question.The encryption field was… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/08/security-hash-functions-called-question/

Verizon sues SMS spammers

Despite there currently being no US laws regarding SMS spam.
Despite there currently being no US laws regarding SMS spam. US mobile provider Verizon Wireless has filed a lawsuit against 51 individuals who, it alleges, sent over 4.7 million… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/08/verizon-sues-sms-spammers/

CA buys PestPatrol

CA splashes out on anti-spyware technology.
CA splashes out on anti-spyware technology. Computer Associates has announced its acquisition of PestPatrol, a privately-held provider of anti-spyware software. CA will market the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/08/ca-buys-pestpatrol/

McAfee to buy Foundstone

McAfee splashes out on vulnerability management.
McAfee splashes out on vulnerability management. McAfee, Inc. has announced its impending acquisition of Foundstone, Inc., manufacturer of vulnerability management software, for… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/08/mcafee-buy-foundstone/

XP SP2 wreaks havoc with AV

XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) establishes stronger security settings that help defend against viruses, hackers and worms.
XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) establishes stronger security settings that help defend against viruses, hackers and worms.According to Microsoft, the newly released (and much anticipated)… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/08/xp-sp2-wreaks-havoc-av/

Guilty as charged

Teen admits to distributing Blaster variant.
Teen admits to distributing Blaster variant. Minnesota teenager Jeffrey Lee Parson has pleaded guilty to distributing the B variant of the Blaster worm . Parson admitted to a… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/08/guilty-charged/

Two victories, a settlement and a reduction in spam

A promising month in the fight against spam.
A promising month in the fight against spam. With Microsoft achieving a $4 million court victory against spammer Daniel Khoshnood and his company Pointcom Inc., and the New York… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/08/two-victories-settlement-and-reduction-spam/

August

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/08/

Spammers brought to justice

Prosecutions made in Denmark, USA and India.
Prosecutions made in Denmark, USA and India. The new year saw a flurry of reports of spammers being brought to justice, with prosecutions being made in Denmark, the USA and… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/07/spammers-brought-justice/

Mydoom.O

Latest Mydoom variant causes problems for Google.
Latest Mydoom variant causes problems for Google. A new version of the Mydoom worm, Mydoom.O, has been spreading across the Internet by email, causing problems even for the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/07/mydoom-o/

Probation for Magold author

Magold author sentenced, Finnish Lasku author arrested.
Magold author sentenced, Finnish Lasku author arrested. Last month saw the sentencing of a Hungarian teenager to two years' probation for creating the Magold virus. Teenager… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/07/probation-magold-author/

Spammer to pay $40,000

Spam King agrees to settlement with NY State.
Spam King agrees to settlement with NY State. High-profile email marketer Scott Richter, aka the 'Spam King', has agreed to pay $40,000 in settlement of a lawsuit brought against… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/07/spammer-pay-40-000/

Two victories, a settlement and a reduction in spam

Despite there currently being no US laws regarding SMS spam.
Despite there currently being no US laws regarding SMS spam. With Microsoft achieving a $4 million court victory against spammer Daniel Khoshnood and his company Pointcom Inc.,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/07/two-victories-settlement-and-reduction-spam/

McAfee plans move to Ireland

Emerald Isle lures another AV firm.
Emerald Isle lures another AV firm. McAfee Inc. (formerly known as Network Associates) has announced plans to move its European headquarters from Amsterdam to the Republic of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/07/mcafee-plans-move-ireland/

Virus in your pocket

Latest proof-of-concept virus affects Pocket PC.
Latest proof-of-concept virus affects Pocket PC. Back in August 2001, Virus Bulletin carried an article which warned "be prepared for the first Windows CE worms for Pocket PCs".… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/07/virus-your-pocket/

Court victory for Microsoft

Spammer ordered to pay $4 million damages to Microsoft.
Spammer ordered to pay $4 million damages to Microsoft. A Californian man has been ordered to pay $4 million to Microsoft after he was found guilty of having sent unsolicited… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/07/court-victory-microsoft/

Bumper quarter for Symantec

Profits more than doubled since last year.
Profits more than doubled since last year. Symantec has announced record profits for its fiscal first quarter of 2005. The AV company reported a profit of $131m on sales of $577m… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/07/bumper-quarter-symantec/

AOL employee colludes with spammers

AOL victim of inside job.
AOL victim of inside job. An AOL employee was arrested last month and charged with selling the company's customer email list to spammers. 24-year-old AOL engineer Jason Smathers… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/07/aol-employee-colludes-spammers/

The world from an email marketer's point of view

Anti-virus and security related articles provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
Spam King Scott Richter says he is "out to make the Internet a better place with email marketing" . High-profile email marketer Scott Richter, aka the 'Spam King', has told PC… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/07/world-email-marketer-s-point-view/

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