VB Blog

VB2016 video: Nymaim: the Untold Story

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Feb 8, 2017

Until very recently, the Nymaim banking trojan was a serious problem in Poland. Today, we publish the video of the VB2016 presentation by CERT Polska researchers Jarosław Jedynak and Maciej Kotowicz, in which they analyse this malware-dropper-turned-banking-trojan.

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The Living Dead Anti-Virus

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Feb 2, 2017

Should users uninstall their anti-virus products, as was recently suggested by a security expert in a widely shared article? In a guest post, security consultant Hendrik Pilz explains why he doesn't think this is a good idea.

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Paper: The journey and evolution of God Mode in 2016: CVE-2016-0189

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 31, 2017

In a new paper published by Virus Bulletin, FireEye researchers Ankit Anubhav and Manish Sardiwal analyse the 'God Mode' vulnerability CVE-2016-0189 in Microsoft Internet Explorer.

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VB2016 video: Neverquest: Crime as a Service and On the Hunt for the Big Bucks

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 30, 2017

At VB2016, Peter Kruse gave a presentation detailing the Neverquest trojan, the alleged author of which was arrested in Spain earlier this month. Today, we publish the recording of Peter's presentation.

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VB2016 paper: Great crypto failures

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 24, 2017

Crypto is hard, and malware authors often make mistakes. At VB2016, Check Point researchers Yaniv Balmas and Ben Herzog discussed the whys and hows of some of the crypto blunders made by malware authors. Today, we publish their paper and the recording of their presentation.

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Call for Papers: VB2017

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 19, 2017

We have opened the Call for Papers for VB2017. We are particularly interested in receiving submissions from those working outside the security industry itself.

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Ransomware not a problem for half of businesses

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 11, 2017

According to a report by IBM Security, 70 per cent of businesses that are the victim of a ransomware attack end up paying the ransom. However, the report also suggests that a little over half of businesses manage to avoid getting infected at all, showing they must be doing something right.

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Ransomware would be much worse if it wasn't for email security solutions

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 5, 2017

The latest VBSpam test brings good news: at least 199 out of every 200 emails containing a malicious attachment were blocked by email security solutions. All of the full solutions tested achieved a VBSpam award, with five earning a VBSpam+ award.

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Throwback Thursday: The malware battle: reflections and forecasts

Posted by   Helen Martin on   Jan 5, 2017

"Another year has come to its end and the malware battle still rages on." In January 2004, Jamz Yaneza reflected on the year just ended and pondered what the coming year would have in store for the AV industry.

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VB2016 paper: Open Source Malware Lab

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 4, 2017

At VB2016, ThreatConnect Director of Research Innovation Robert Simmons presented a paper on setting up an open source malware lab. Today, we share the accompanying paper and video.

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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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