VB Blog

VB2019 paper: Defeating APT10 compiler-level obfuscations

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Mar 13, 2020

At VB2019 in London, Carbon Black researcher Takahiro Haruyama presented a paper on defeating compiler-level obfuscations used by the APT10 group. Today we publish both Takahiro's paper and the recording of his presentation.

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VB2019 paper: Attribution is in the object: using RTF object dimensions to track APT phishing weaponizers

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Mar 12, 2020

At VB2019 in London Michael Raggi (Proofpoint) and Ghareeb Saad (Anomali) presented a paper on the 'Royal Road' exploit builder (or weaponizer) and how the properties of RTF files can be used to track weaponizers and their users. Today we publish both their paper and the recording of their presentation.

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VB2019 presentation: Nexus between OT and IT threat intelligence

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Mar 11, 2020

Operational technology, the mission critical IT in ICS, shares many similarities with traditional IT systems, but also some crucial differences. During the Threat Intelligence Practitioners’ Summit at VB2019, Dragos cyber threat intelligence analyst Selena Larson gave a keynote on these similarities and differences. Today we release the recording of her presentation.

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VB2019 paper: Kimsuky group: tracking the king of the spear-phishing

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Mar 10, 2020

In a paper presented at VB2019 in London, researchers fron the Financial Security Institute detailed the tools and activities used by the APT group 'Kimsuky', some of which they were able to analyse through OpSec failures by the group. Today, we publish their paper.

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VB2019 paper: Play fuzzing machine - hunting iOS and macOS kernel vulnerabilities automatically and smartly

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Mar 9, 2020

In a paper presented at VB2019 in London, Trend Micro researchers Lilang Wu and Moony Li explained how the hunt for vulnerabilities in MacOS and iOS operating systems can be made both smarter and more automatic. Today we publish both their paper and the recording of their presentation.

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VB2019 paper: Finding drive-by rookies using an automated active observation platform

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Mar 6, 2020

In a last-minute paper presented at VB2019 in London, Rintaro Koike (NTT Security) and Yosuke Chubachi (Active Defense Institute, Ltd) discussed the platform they have built to automatically detect and analyse exploit kits. Today we publish the recording of their presentation.

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VB2019 paper: Pulling the PKPLUG: the adversary playbook for the long-standing espionage activity of a Chinese nation state adversary

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Feb 28, 2020

The activities of China-based threat actor PKPLUG were detailed in a VB2019 paper by Palo Alto Networks researcher Alex Hinchliffe, who described the playbook of this long-standing adversary. Today we publish both Alex's paper and the recording of his presentation.

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VB2019 paper: Static analysis methods for detection of Microsoft Office exploits

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Feb 25, 2020

Today we publish the VB2019 paper and presentation by McAfee researcher Chintan Shah in which he described static analysis methods for the detection of Microsoft Office exploits.

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New paper: LokiBot: dissecting the C&C panel deployments

Posted by   Helen Martin on   Feb 17, 2020

First advertised as an information stealer and keylogger when it appeared in underground forums in 2015, LokiBot has added various capabilities over the years and has affected many users worldwide. In a new paper researcher Aditya Sood analyses the URL structure of the LokiBot C&C panels and how they have evolved over time.

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VB2019 presentation: Building secure sharing systems that treat humans as features not bugs

Posted by   Helen Martin on   Feb 14, 2020

In a presentation at VB2019 in London, Virtru's Andrea Limbago described how, by exploring data sharing challenges through a socio-technical lens, it is possible to make significant gains toward the secure sharing systems and processes that are vital for innovation and collaboration. Today we release the recording of her presentation.

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You are your own threat model

For most people, the biggest security threat is that of themselves doing something they shouldn't do.
For most people, the biggest security threat is that of themselves doing something they shouldn't do. Last week, Microsoft wrote about the return of macro malware where, now that… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/05/you-are-your-own-threat-model/

May

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/05/

Report: six anti-virus solutions pass annual Linux test

Clean sweep of passes in VB100 test on Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
Clean sweep of passes in VB100 test on Red Hat Enterprise Linux. 2015 will yet again not be the 'Year of the Linux Desktop', yet behind the scenes' Linux plays an important role in… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/05/report-six-anti-virus-solutions-pass-annual-linux-test/

Throwback Thursday: Regina v Christopher Pile: The Inside Story & Off with his Head!

This Throwback Thursday, we bring you not one but two (related) pieces from the archives as VB heads back to 1996 to look at events surrounding the issuing of the UK's first custodial sentence for writing and distributing computer viruses.
This Throwback Thursday, we bring you not one but two (related) pieces from the archives as VB heads back to 1996 to look at events surrounding the issuing of the UK's first… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/04/throwback-thursday-regina-v-christopher-pile-inside-story-amp-his-head/

POODLE is the brown M&Ms of security

Just because it won't be exploited, doesn't mean you shouldn't patch it.
Just because it won't be exploited, doesn't mean you shouldn't patch it. There is a famous story about the rock band Van Halen whose lists of requirements when performing a show… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/04/poodle-brown-m-amp-ms-security/

Report: 15 solutions achieve VBSpam award

Test process also uncovers job spam illustrative of trend.
Test process also uncovers job spam illustrative of trend. Last week, we published our 36th comparative anti-spam test. All but one of the 16 participating full solutions achieved… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/04/report-15-solutions-achieve-vbspam-award/

Throwback Thursday: Through the Administrator's Eye

This Throwback Thursday, VB heads back to 1997 with 'Through the Administrator's Eye'.
This Throwback Thursday, VB heads back to 1997 with 'Through the Administrator's Eye'. Over the last couple of years, the 'Throwback Thursday' trend has taken the Internet by… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/04/throwback-thursday-through-administrator-s-eye/

VB2015 offer for new security companies

Write an article for the Bulletin, get a half-price ticket for the conference.
Write an article for the Bulletin, get a half-price ticket for the conference. Things are going well for the security industry. That may, of course, be because of the poor state of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/04/offer-new-security-companies/

Registration for VB2015 has opened

Early bird discounts available for registrations made before 30 June.
Early bird discounts available for registrations made before 30 June. Today, we have opened registration for VB2015, the 25th Virus Bulletin International Conference. 'VB' is… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/04/registration-has-opened/

Ross Anderson awarded BCS Lovelace Medal

Cambridge professor to deliver VB2015 keynote.
Cambridge professor to deliver VB2015 keynote. Yesterday, the British Computer Society (BCS) announced that the 2015 Lovelace Medal has been awarded to Prof. Ross Anderson. Named… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/04/ross-anderson-awarded-bcs-lovelace-medal/

Does it matter if my banking password is 'Prague'?

Users do choose weak passwords, but they aren't as big a problem as we think.
Users do choose weak passwords, but they aren't as big a problem as we think. This week, I spent a few days at the Cyber Security Summit Financial Services conference in Prague,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/04/does-it-matter-if-my-banking-password-prague/

Throwback Thursday: The Unbearable Lightness of Testing

VB gets in on the Throwback Thursday act, delving into the archives.
VB gets in on the Throwback Thursday act, delving into the archives. Over the last couple of years, the 'Throwback Thursday' trend has taken the Internet by storm, with social… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/04/throwback-thursday-unbearable-lightness-testing/

Google 'suspends' CNNIC from Chrome's certificate store

Chinese certificate authority told to re-apply.
Chinese certificate authority told to re-apply. When a web client, such as a browser, attempts to make an HTTPS connection, it needs to know that no man-in-the-middle attack is… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/04/google-suspends-cnnic-chrome-s-certificate-store/

Volatile Cedar campaign - cyber espionage isn't just for large nation states

Details of malware to be discussed at VB2015.
Details of malware to be discussed at VB2015. Researchers at Check Point have revealed details of a cyber-espionage campaign, dubbed 'Volatile Cedar', that has been active since at… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/04/volatile-cedar-campaign-cyber-espionage-isn-t-just-large-nation-states/

VB2014 paper: Swipe away, we're watching you

Hong Kei Chan and Liang Huang describe the various aspects and the evolution of point-of-sale malware.
Hong Kei Chan and Liang Huang describe the various aspects and the evolution of point-of-sale malware.Since the close of the VB2014 conference in Seattle in October, we have been… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/04/paper-swipe-away-we-re-watching-you/

Virus Bulletin announces two VB2015 keynotes

Ross Anderson and Costin Raiu to deliver keynote addresses at 25th Virus Bulletin conference.
Ross Anderson and Costin Raiu to deliver keynote addresses at 25th Virus Bulletin conference. Two days after we published the programme for VB2015, we are excited to announce that… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/04/announces-two-keynotes/

April

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/04/

VB2015 conference programme announced

From drones to elephants: an exciting range of topics will be covered in Prague.
From drones to elephants: an exciting range of topics will be covered in Prague. In six months' time, security researchers from around the world will gather in Prague for the 25th… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/03/conference-programme-announced/

Paper: a timeline of mobile botnets

Ruchna Nigam provides an overview of more than 60 mobile malware families.
Ruchna Nigam provides an overview of more than 60 mobile malware families. The rise of mobile malware is still a relatively recent thing, with the first actual mobile botnets not… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/03/paper-timeline-mobile-botnets/

Paper: Dylib hijacking on OS X

Patrick Wardle shows how OS X is also vulnerable to once common Windows attacks.
Patrick Wardle shows how OS X is also vulnerable to once common Windows attacks. A few years ago, DLL hijacking on Windows was really hot, despite the fact that the concept had… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/03/paper-dylib-hijacking-os-x/

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