VB Blog

VB2021 localhost call for papers: a great opportunity

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Mar 17, 2021

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.

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New article: Excel Formula/Macro in .xlsb?

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Mar 2, 2021

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.

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New article: Decompiling Excel Formula (XF) 4.0 malware

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Feb 23, 2021

In a new article, researcher Kurt Natvig takes a close look at XF 4.0 malware.

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The Bagsu banker case - presentation

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Jan 29, 2021

At VB2019, CSIS researcher Benoît Ancel spoke about a quiet banking trojan actor that has been targeting German users since at least 2014.

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VB2021 call for papers - now open, to all!

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Jan 19, 2021

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!

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In memoriam: Yonathan Klijnsma

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Jan 11, 2021

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.

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VB2020 localhost videos available on YouTube

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Jan 8, 2021

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.

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

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Dec 8, 2020

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.

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

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Dec 4, 2020

At VB2020 localhost, Carbon Black's Scott Knight presented an approach he and his colleagues have taken to more realistically simulate malware attacks.

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

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Dec 2, 2020

At VB2020, researcher Paul Litvak revealed how he put together a comprehensive map of threat actor use of open-source offensive security tools.

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“Cybersecurity is, at its core, a people problem,” says VB2016 keynote speaker

An interview with VB2016’s keynote speaker Christine Whalley - Director, Governance and IT Risk Management at Pfizer
  Christine Whalley is the director of governance and IT risk management at Pfizer, the American global pharmaceutical corporation headquartered in New York City. Not only does… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2016/september/cybersecurity-its-core-people-problem-says-vb2016-keynote-speaker/

Throwback Thursday: Following the Breadcrumbs

In 1999, Christine Orshesky described how one large organization decided to find out how and where the viruses within it were being obtained so it could do more to protect its networks.
In just under two weeks' time, Christine Whalley, Director of Information Security at Pfizer, will deliver the opening keynote address at VB2016 in Denver. Christine is no… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2016/september/throwback-thursday-following-breadcrumbs1/

VB2016 preview: Cryptography mistakes in malware

At VB2016, two talks will discuss mistakes made by malware authors in cryptographic implementations. Ben Herzog and Yaniv Balmas will present a paper in which they look at a number of these mistakes, while Malwarebytes researcher hasherezade will present …
"Don't roll your own crypto", software developers are often told: cryptography is hard and thus it is always safer to use a well-tested public library rather than writing your own… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2016/september/vb2016-preview-presentations-cryptography-mistakes-malware/

GPS technology is more at risk from cyber attack than ever before, security expert demonstrates at VB2016

Next month at VB2016, HPE Security's Oleg Petrovsky will speak about attacks on GPS. We conducted a short interview with Oleg and asked him about GPS, about the conference, and about his ultimate dinner party.
An interview with VB2016 presenter Oleg Petrovsky of HPE Security research. Meeting Oleg Petrovsky, a senior anti-malware researcher at HPE Security research, is an experience.… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2016/september/turns-out-gps-technology-more-vulnerable-cyberattack-ever-security-expert-demonstrates/

BSides Denver: Join and Support the Security Community

If you are coming to VB2016 in Denver, why not spend an extra day in the Mile-High City and join the free BSides Denver conference, which takes place on Saturday?
I sometimes catch myself talking about "the security industry" and then quickly correct myself to say "the security community". For, despite the presence of big businesses and… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2016/september/bsides-denver-join-and-support-security-community/

VB2016 'Last-Minute' Papers Announced

We are excited to announce the addition of the "last-minute" papers to the VB2016 programme: nine presentations covering hot research topics, from OS X attacks to exotic APTs, breaking ransomware and the current state of BGP.
With a little over three weeks to go until VB2016, the conference programme is almost complete. We have a great selection of talks on the main programme, half a dozen Small Talks… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2016/september/vb2016-last-minute-papers-announced/

VB2016 preview: Debugging and Monitoring Malware Network Activities with Haka

In a VB2016 paper, Stormshield researchers Benoit Ancel and Mehdi Talbi will present a paper on Haka, a tool that can be used to monitor and debug malware's network communications.
Although some inventive (and often quite impractical) non-network-based ways to remotely control malware have been presented, most botnets use the normal Internet connection of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2016/september/vb2016-preview-debugging-and-monitoring-malware-network-activities-haka/

Paper: Behavioural Detection and Prevention of Malware on OS X

In a new paper published through Virus Bulletin, Vincent Van Mieghem presents a novel method for detecting malware on Mac OS X, based on the system calls used by malicious software.
Though still well behind that of Windows malware, the prevalence of malware targeting OS X has increased in the past year to the point where Mac users can't assume they are safe… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2016/september/paper-behavioural-detection-and-prevention-malware-os-x/

VB2016 preview: Smart Outlets. Why We Need Responsible Disclosure!

At VB2016, four researcher from Bitdefender will present a paper in which they look at vulnerabilities in four "smart" power outlets.
If you are wondering whether you really live in the future: we need to be concerned about the security of Internet-connected power outlets. Such devices are the subject of a… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2016/september/vb2016-preview-smart-outlets-why-we-need-responsible-disclosure/

VB2016 preview: Uncovering the Secrets of Malvertising

Malvertising, in which legitimate ad networks are abused to silently infect users with malware, has become a real plague in recent years. A VB2016 paper by Malwarebytes researchers Jérôme Segura and Chris Boyd will look at the issue.
Two years ago, at VB2014, Bromium researcher Vadim Kotov presented a paper in which he looked at various possibilities for cybercriminals to leverage ad networks to spread… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2016/september/vb2016-preview-uncovering-secrets-malvertising/

VB2016: Important Information About the Hotel

Many people have already registered for VB2016 and the conference hotel is rapidly filling up - registration for the event will remain open right up until the start of the conference, but here, we provide some advice about booking accommodation.
We are delighted that many people have already registered for VB2016, and registration for VB2016 will remain open right up until the start of the conference. However, the large… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2016/september/vb2016-important-information-about-hotel/

VB2016 preview: Detecting Man-in-the-Middle Attacks With Canary Requests

At VB2016, Cylance researcher Brian Wallace will reveal a multi-platform tool that runs on the endpoint and uses various techniques to detect ongoing man-in-the-middle attacks.
While man-in-the-middle attacks are relatively rare (especially among those not attending hacker conferences), it is quite common for computer users to be in a situation where an… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2016/september/vb2016-preview-detecting-man-middle-attacks-canary-requests/

A look at the VB2016 sponsors

More than a dozen companies and organizations are lending their support to VB2016 as conference sponsors and supporting organizations.
Today, we are exactly one month away from the start of VB2016, the 26th Virus Bulletin International Conference, which is to take place 5-7 October in Denver, Colorado. We thought… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2016/september/look-vb2016-sponsors/

Guest blog: Nemucod ransomware analysis

In a guest blog, Webroot researcher Jesse Lopez looks at another variant in the massive crop of malware that takes users’ files hostage: Nemucod ransomware.
In the run up to VB2016, we invited the sponsors of the conference to write guest posts for our blog. In the third of this series, Webroot's Jesse Lopez writes about the Nemucod… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2016/september/guest-blog-nemucod-ransomware-analysis/

September

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2016/september/

VB2016 preview: Mobile Applications: a Backdoor into Internet of Things?

At VB2016 in Denver, Fortinet researcher Axelle Apvrille will discuss how analysing a device's complementary mobile app can help a great deal in understanding the architecture of a smart device.
The recent discovery of a one-million-device IoT botnet used for DDoS attacks should be ample proof that concerns over the security of the Internet of Things are not merely… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2016/september/vb2016-preview-mobile-applications-backdoor-internet-things/

VB2016 preview: Wild Android Collusions

Full technical details of the first in-the-wild Android app 'collusion' attack, where multiple apps perform an attack in collaboration, will be shared with the public in at VB2016 in Denver on 5 October.
Most research into and protection against malicious apps focuses on single apps. This makes it interesting for malware authors to use app 'collusion': the ability of two (or more)… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2016/08/vb2016-preview-wild-android-collusions/

Small Talks return to the Virus Bulletin Conference

Following their success last year, this year a series of "Small Talks" return to the VB2016 conference programme. We are pleased to announce the details of six of these talks, covering subjects that range from the Chinese cybercriminal underground to Andr…
VB2015 was the 25th Virus Bulletin conference and, to celebrate the occasion, we added a third stream to the programme. Dubbed "Small Talks", these talks were longer than those on… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2016/08/small-talks-return-virus-bulletin-conference/

Research shows web security products perform well against exploit kits

Research by Virus Bulletin, in which five web security products were served 54 live exploit kits, shows that the products blocked between 87 and 100 per cent of the kits.
Among the security community a lot of research effort is dedicated to analysing exploit kits and their constantly evolving methods of frustrating researchers while infecting… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2016/08/research-shows-web-security-products-perform-well-against-exploit-kits/

Throwback Thursday: Olympic Games

In 1994, along with the Olympic Games came an Olympic virus, from a group of Swedish virus authors calling themselves ‘Immortal Riot’. We look back at Mikko Hyppönen's analysis in the VB archive.
As the world of sport awaits the official opening of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio tomorrow, any talk of viruses is restricted to concerns surrounding the mosquito-borne,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2016/08/throwback-thursday-olympic-games/

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