VB Blog

First sponsors of VB2017 announced

Posted by Martijn Grooten on Mar 6, 2017

We are excited to announce the first five sponsors of VB2017, companies based in Europe, Asia and North America.

Posted by Martijn Grooten on Feb 27, 2017

A recent paper showed that many HTTPS-intercepting security solutions have implemented TLS rather poorly. Does that mean we should avoid such solutions altogether?

Posted by Martijn Grooten on Feb 23, 2017

Researchers from Google and CWI Amsterdam have created the first known collision of the SHA-1 hashing algorithm, making a very strong case to ditch it.

Posted by Helen Martin on Feb 23, 2017

VB was saddened to learn this week of the passing of one of the pioneers of the AV industry, Ross Greenberg. This Throwback Thursday we look back at an interview with Ross in November 1995.

Posted by Martijn Grooten on Feb 20, 2017

Have you analysed a new online threat? Do you know a new way to defend against such threats? Then submit an abstract in the CFP for VB2017!

Posted by Martijn Grooten on Feb 17, 2017

APT reports are great for gaining an understanding of how advanced attack groups operate - however, they can also provide free QA for the threat actors. Today, we publish a VB2016 paper by Gadi Evron (Cymmetria) and Inbar Raz (Perimeter X), who discuss what they think is wrong with many APT reports and what can be done to improve them.

Posted by Martijn Grooten on Feb 14, 2017

Industry veteran Mikko Hyppönen recently urged would-be security researchers to ditch their favourite pop music and listen to security podcasts on their commute to work instead. Virus Bulletin Editor Martijn Grooten shares his favourite security podcasts.

Posted by Martijn Grooten on Feb 10, 2017

In a presentation at VB2016, Patrick Wardle, Director of Research at Synack, discussed the possibilities of Mac malware recording the user via the webcam. Today, we publish the video of Patrick's presentation.

Posted by Martijn Grooten on Feb 9, 2017

Virus Bulletin Editor Martijn Grooten calls for the security community not to forget those most vulnerable in the digital world, including political activists living under oppressive regimes, and victims of abuse.

Posted by Helen Martin on Feb 9, 2017

In early 1991, the world was a troubled place and conflict and violence were being reported globally on a daily basis. With this as a backdrop, the world of "indiscriminate" computer viruses which "victimise in a random and unpredictable manner" seemed relatively trivial to then Editor of VB, Edward Wilding.

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New article: Dissecting the design and vulnerabilities in AZORult C&C panels

In a new article, Aditya K Sood looks at the command-and-control (C&C) design of the AZORult malware, discussing his team's findings related to the C&C design and some security issues they identified.
Dissecting the Design and Vulnerabilities in AZORult C&C Panels Read the paper (HTML) Download the paper (PDF) If you have some research you'd like to share with the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2021/04/new-article-dissecting-design-and-vulnerabilities-azorult-cc-panels/

March

https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2021/03/

VB2021 localhost call for papers: a great opportunity

VB2021 localhost presents an exciting opportunity to share your research with an even wider cross section of the IT security community around the world than usual, without having to take time out of your work schedule (or budget) to travel.
Earlier this week VB took the tough decision to cancel the in-person version of VB2021 in Prague. We had really hoped to be able to host an in-person event this year, but with… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2021/03/vb2021-localhost-call-papers-great-opportunity/

New article: Excel Formula/Macro in .xlsb?

In a follow-up to an article published last week, Kurt Natvig takes us through the analysis of a new malicious sample using the .xlsb file format.
Excel Formula/Macro in .xlsb? Read the paper (HTML) Download the paper (PDF) Excel Formula, or XLM – does it ever stop giving pain to researchers? So asks Forcepoint… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2021/02/new-article-excel-formulamacro-xlsb/

February

https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2021/02/

New article: Decompiling Excel Formula (XF) 4.0 malware

In a new article, researcher Kurt Natvig takes a close look at XF 4.0 malware.
Decompiling Excel Formula (XF) 4.0 malware Read the paper (HTML) Download the paper (PDF) Office malware has been around for a long time, but until recently Excel Formula… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2021/02/new-article-decompiling-excel-formula-xf-40-malware/

The Bagsu banker case - presentation

At VB2019, CSIS researcher Benoît Ancel spoke about a quiet banking trojan actor that has been targeting German users since at least 2014.
Some time ago, researchers at CSIS Security Group discovered the infrastructure of a "quiet" banking trojan actor that had been targeting German users since at least 2014. At… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2021/01/bagsu-banker-case-presentation/

VB2021 call for papers - now open, to all!

The call for papers for VB2021 is now open and we want to hear from you - we're planning for flexible presentation formats, so everyone is encouraged to submit, regardless of whether or not you know at this stage whether you'll be able to travel to Prague…
2020 proved to be an extraordinary – in the true sense of the word – year for everyone, and 2021 has already thrown some curveballs in the short few weeks since it began.… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2021/01/vb2021-call-papers-now-open-all/

In memoriam: Yonathan Klijnsma

We were very sorry to learn of the passing of researcher Yonathan Klijnsma last week. Here, former VB Editor Martijn Grooten shares his memories of a talented researcher and a very kind person: this month, infosec lost a really good one.
We were very sorry to learn of the passing of researcher Yonathan Klijnsma last week and we offer our deepest condolences to his family and friends. Here, former VB Editor Martijn… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2021/01/memoriam-yonathan-klijnsma/

January

https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2021/01/

2021

https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2021/

VB2020 localhost videos available on YouTube

VB has made all VB2020 localhost presentations available on the VB YouTube channel, so you can now watch - and share - any part of the conference freely and without registration.
Today, VB has made all VB2020 localhost presentations available on VB's YouTube channel, so you can now watch – and share – any part of the conference freely and without… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2021/01/vb2020-localhost-videos-available-youtube/

VB2020 presentation & paper: 2030: backcasting the potential rise and fall of cyber threat intelligence

At VB2020 localhost, threat intelligence consultant Jamie Collier used the analytical technique of backcasting to look at the rise and fall of the cyber threat intelligence industry.
Backcasting is an analytical technique that establishes an imagined future scenario and then works backwards to understand what caused that outcome. At VB2020, FireEye's Jamie… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2020/12/vb2020-presentation-paper-2030-backcasting-potential-rise-and-fall-cyber-threat-intelligence/

VB2020 presentation: Behind the Black Mirror: simulating attacks with mock C2 servers

At VB2020 localhost, Carbon Black's Scott Knight presented an approach he and his colleagues have taken to more realistically simulate malware attacks.
Dynamic analysis of a malicious sample in a lab setup can be hampered by the absence of the malware's C2 server listening and providing responses – potentially resulting in only a… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2020/12/vb2020-presentation-behind-black-mirror-simulating-attacks-mock-c2-servers/

December

https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2020/12/

VB2020 presentation & paper: Advanced Pasta Threat: mapping threat actor usage of open-source offensive security tools

At VB2020, researcher Paul Litvak revealed how he put together a comprehensive map of threat actor use of open-source offensive security tools.
The development and publication of offensive security tools (OSTs) is a point of great controversy in the information security community: while some argue that releasing such… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2020/12/vb2020-presentation-paper-advanced-pasta-threat-mapping-threat-actor-usage-open-source-offensive-security-tools/

VB2020 presentation: Evolution of Excel 4.0 macro weaponization

At VB2020 localhost James Haughom, Stefano Ortolani and Baibhav Singh gave a presentation in which they described how XL4 macros are being weaponised and the evolution of the techniques used.
The use by attackers of legitimate Excel 4.0 (XL4) macros as a simple and reliable method to gain a foothold on a target network is becoming increasingly popular and presents a… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2020/11/vb2020-presentation-evolution-excel-40-macro-weaponization/

Cybersecurity Assessment Tool launched by Ford Foundation

The Ford Foundation has launched a tool designed to help nonprofit organizations assess their own cybersecurity efforts.
The Ford Foundation has launched a tool designed to help nonprofit organizations assess their own cybersecurity efforts. The Cybersecurity Assessment Tool is specifically aimed… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2020/11/cybersecurity-assessment-tool-launched-ford-foundation/

VB2020 presentation: Another threat actor day…

At VB2020 localhost Paul Jung, of Excellium Services, detailed an incident response that he and his team faced when, in December 2019, a Belgian hospital required their help to manage a breach of their informations system.
Hospitals can be attractive places for hackers. With access to critical medical records and personally identifiable information, there is great opportunity to exploit patients.… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2020/11/vb2020-presentation-another-threat-actor-day/

VB2020 presentation: Ramsay: a cyber-espionage toolkit tailored for air-gapped networks

At VB2020 localhost, ESET researcher Ignacio Sanmillan spoke about Ramsay, a toolkit specifically designed to steal documents and operate within air-gapped networks.
Air gapping is a network security measure commonly used in military/governmental, financial and industrial control systems networks that is applied to one or more computers in… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2020/11/vb2020-presentation-ramsay-cyber-espionage-toolkit-tailored-air-gapped-networks/

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