VB Blog

VB2016 video: Last-minute paper: Malicious proxy auto-configs: an easy way to harvest banking credentials

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   May 30, 2017

In a VB2016 last-minute presentation, Jaromír Horejší and Jan Širmer looked at Retefe, a trojan that has targeted banks in several European countries and used malicious proxy auto-config filesto redirect users' traffic to a server controlled by the attackers. A recording of their presentation is now available to view on our YouTube channel.

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WannaCry shows we need to understand why organizations don't patch

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   May 17, 2017

Perhaps the question we should be asking about WannaCry is not "why do so many organizations allow unpatched machines to exist on their networks?" but "why doesn't patching work reasonably well most of the time?"

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Modern security software is not necessarily powerless against threats like WannaCry

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   May 15, 2017

The WannaCry ransomware has affected many organisations around the world, making it probably the worst and most damaging of its kind. But modern security is not necessarily powerless against such threats.

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Throwback Thursday: CARO: A personal view

Posted by   Helen Martin on   May 11, 2017

This week sees the 11th International CARO Workshop taking place in Krakow, Poland – a prestigious annual meeting of anti-malware and security experts. As a founding member of CARO, Fridrik Skulason was well placed, in August 1994, to shed some light on the organization, to explain in detail CARO's main activities and functions, as well as the reasons behind its strict membership regulations.

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VB2016 paper: Uncovering the secrets of malvertising

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   May 10, 2017

Malicious advertising, a.k.a. malvertising, has evolved tremendously over the past few years to take a central place in some of today’s largest web-based attacks. It is by far the tool of choice for attackers to reach the masses but also to target them with infinite precision and deliver such payloads as ransomware. Today, we publish a paper presented at VB2016 in Denver by Malwarebytes researchers Jérôme Segura and Chris Boyd, in which they look at the advertising ecosystem, how it is used, and at what techniques are being utilised to spread malware

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Throwback Thursday: Tools of the DDoS Trade

Posted by   Helen Martin on   May 4, 2017

As DDoS attacks become costlier to fix and continue to increase in both number and diversity, we turn back the clock to 2000, when Aleksander Czarnowski took a look at the DDoS tools of the day.

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VB2016 paper: Building a local passiveDNS capability for malware incident response

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   May 4, 2017

At VB2016, Splunk researchers Kathy Wang and Steve Brant presented a Splunk app that can be used to locally collect passive DNS data. A recording of their presentation is now available to view on our YouTube channel.

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VB2016 video: Last-minute paper: A malicious OS X cocktail served from a tainted bottle

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Apr 28, 2017

In a VB2016 last-minute presentation, ESET researchers Peter Kalnai and Martin Jirkal looked at the OS X malware threats KeRanger and Keydnap, that both spread through a compromised BitTorrent client. A recording of their presentation is now available to view on our YouTube channel.

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Consumer spyware: a serious threat with a different threat model

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Apr 25, 2017

Consumer spyware is a growing issue and one that can have serious consequences: its use is increasingly common in domestic violence. But do our threat models consider the attacker with physical access to, and inside knowledge of the victim?

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VB2016 paper: Debugging and monitoring malware network activities with Haka

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Apr 24, 2017

In their VB2016 paper, Stormshield researchers Benoît Ancel and Mehdi Talbi introduced Haka, an open-source language to monitor, debug and control malicious network traffic. Both their paper and the video recording of their presentation are now available to read/view on www.virusbulletin.com.

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Throwback Thursday: KAOS on the Superhighway?

This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back to 1994, when KAOS4 was discovered on the Internet.
This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back to 1994, when KAOS4 was discovered on the Internet. A new virus has been found on the Internet — today, this is an unfortunate fact… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/06/throwback-thursday-kaos-superhighway/

Paper: Using .NET GUIDs to help hunt for malware

Tool to extract identifiers incorporated into VirusTotal.
Tool to extract identifiers incorporated into VirusTotal. The large number of new malware samples found each day hasn't made malware analysis an easier task, and researchers could… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/06/paper-using-net-guids-help-hunt-malware/

Steganoprague: a VB2015 competition & puzzle

Use your obfuscation and deobfuscation skills to win a prize during the VB2015 conference!
Use your obfuscation and deobfuscation skills to win a prize during the VB2015 conference! "It is time for defenders to go on the offence," wrote Andreas Lindh in Virus Bulletin… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/06/steganoprague-competition-amp-puzzle/

NSA, GCHQ found to target anti-virus products

Agencies looked for vulnerabilities to exploit and for submitted malware samples.
Agencies looked for vulnerabilities to exploit and for submitted malware samples. New documents from NSA whistle-blower Edward Snowden have revealed the agency and its British… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/06/nsa-gchq-found-target-anti-virus-products/

Paper: Beta exploit pack: one more piece of crimeware for the infection road!

Exploit kit currently being tested focuses primarily on Flash Player exploits.
Exploit kit currently being tested focuses primarily on Flash Player exploits. Nuclear, Angler, Magnitude and Rig. Security researchers know we're talking about exploit kits (or… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/06/paper-beta-exploit-pack-one-more-piece-crimeware-infection-road/

Throwback Thursday: Macro Viruses & The Little Virus That Could...

This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back to 1999, when Melissa was causing havoc across the globe and VB presented a series of articles detailing all you ever wanted to know about macro viruses but were afraid to ask.
This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back to 1999, when Melissa was causing havoc across the globe and VB presented a series of articles detailing all you ever wanted to know… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/06/throwback-thursday-macro-viruses-amp-little-virus-could/

Virus Bulletin announces 'Small Talks' for VB2015

Smaller, more informal format ideal for discussion and debate.
Smaller, more informal format ideal for discussion and debate. When, a few months ago, we announced the programme for VB2015, we promised 'a number of added extras'. We have… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/06/announces-small-talks/

Throwback Thursday: Virus Writers

This Throwback Thursday, we bring you a series of articles from the archives that looked at virus writers, asking 'who are they?', 'why do they do it?', and other pertinent questions.
This Throwback Thursday, we bring you a series of articles from the archives that looked at virus writers, asking 'who are they?', 'why do they do it?', and other pertinent… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/06/throwback-thursday-virus-writers/

Vawtrak uses Tor2Web to connect to Tor hidden C&C servers

Option hides the servers, without having to include a Tor client in the malware.
Option hides the servers, without having to include a Tor client in the malware. The authors of the Vawtrak trojan (also known as Neverquest) have moved some of its C&C servers to… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/06/vawtrak-uses-tor2web-connect-tor-hidden-c-amp-c-servers/

Duqu 2.0 found to target security company

Advanced malware also targeted venues linked to Iranian nuclear negotiations.
Advanced malware also targeted venues linked to Iranian nuclear negotiations. There are some security stories you couldn't make up. The authors of an advanced malware tool have… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/06/duqu-2-0-found-target-security-company/

June

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/06/

London calling!

Infosecurity Europe, BSides London and the Security Bloggers Meetup.
Infosecurity Europe, BSides London and the Security Bloggers Meetup. June is the new April, at least for the security industry, as its traditional get-together in London… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/05/london-calling/

Paper: On the beat

Kevin Williams looks back at UK law enforcement successes at combating cybercrime.
Kevin Williams looks back at UK law enforcement successes at combating cybercrime. In a recent Throwback Thursday article, we looked back at the sentencing of self-confessed virus… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/05/paper-beat/

Throwback Thursday: Research and Other Hobbies

This Throwback Thursday we reflect on the life of one of industry's greats, who sadly passed away this week: Prof. Klaus Brunnstein.
This Throwback Thursday we reflect on the life of one of industry's greats, who sadly passed away this week: Prof. Klaus Brunnstein. Professor Klaus Brunnstein was one of the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/05/throwback-thursday-research-and-other-hobbies/

Weak keys and prime reuse make Diffie-Hellman implementations vulnerable

'Logjam' attack possibly used by the NSA to decrypt VPN traffic.
'Logjam' attack possibly used by the NSA to decrypt VPN traffic. A group of researchers have discovered a number of vulnerabilities in the way the Diffie-Hellman key exchange… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/05/weak-keys-and-prime-reuse-make-diffie-hellman-implementations-vulnerable/

Virus Bulletin announces student tickets for VB2015

87% discount for students and the option to give a lightning talk.
87% discount for students and the option to give a lightning talk. A few weeks ago, we opened registration for VB2015, which will take place in Prague from 30 September to 2… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/05/announces-student-tickets/

Throwback Thursday: Double Trouble / The Perfect Couple

Once again this Throwback Thursday, we bring you not one but two (related) pieces from the archives as VB heads back to the mid-90s when a new era of viruses was believed to be dawning.
Once again this Throwback Thursday, we bring you not one but two (related) pieces from the archives as VB heads back to the mid-90s when a new era of viruses was believed to be… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/05/throwback-thursday-double-trouble-perfect-couple/

Book review: The Florentine Deception, by Carey Nachenberg

John Hawes reviews Carey Nachenberg's debut novel.
John Hawes reviews Carey Nachenberg's debut novel. There's a rather serious problem with fiction involving computers, and computer security in particular. It seems like any time a… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/05/book-review-florentine-deception-carey-nachenberg/

Book review: Data and Goliath, by Bruce Schneier

Paul Baccas reviews Data and Goliath 'The Hidden Battles to Collect You Data and Control Your World', by Bruce Schneier.
Paul Baccas reviews Data and Goliath 'The Hidden Battles to Collect You Data and Control Your World', by Bruce Schneier. This book has been difficult to review. It has proved… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/05/book-review-data-and-goliath-bruce-schneier/

Throwback Thursday: When Love came to Town

Once again this Throwback Thursday, we bring you not one but two (related) pieces from the archives as VB heads back to 2000 in the week of the 15th anniversary of the LoveLetter virus.
Once again this Throwback Thursday, we bring you not one but two (related) pieces from the archives as VB heads back to 2000 in the week of the 15th anniversary of the LoveLetter… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/05/throwback-thursday-when-love-came-town/

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