VB Blog

Registration for VB2018 now open!

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   May 8, 2018

Registration for VB2018, the 28th International Virus Bulletin conference, is now open, with an early bird rate available until 1 July.

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RSA 2018: the good, the bad, the ugly, the great and the fantastic

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   May 1, 2018

In April, VB's Martijn Grooten attended the RSA Expo in San Francisco. He shares his views on the expo and the industry.

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Standalone product test: Kaspersky Security for Microsoft Office 365

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Apr 30, 2018

There are a number of security solutions on the market that are designed to increase the default protection provided by Office 365. One such product is the newly launched Kaspersky Security for Microsoft Office 365. Virus Bulletin was commissioned to measure the effectiveness of the Kaspersky product compared to the Office 365 baseline protection.

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GravityRAT malware takes your system's temperature

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Apr 27, 2018

The GravityRAT malware, discovered by Cisco Talos researchers, gives some interesting insight into modern malware development.

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$150k in cryptocurrency stolen through combined BGP-DNS hijack

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Apr 25, 2018

A BGP hijack was used to take over some of Amazon's DNS infrastructure, which was then used to serve a phishing site to users of the MyEtherWallet service.

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Security-focused routers may help to mitigate IoT threats

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Apr 24, 2018

Various security companies are offering security-focused routers. This is a good trend and may help mitigate a lot of the issues that come with the IoT.

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The road to IPv6 is generally smooth but contains a few potholes

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Apr 23, 2018

Most of the switch from IPv4 to IPv6 will happen seamlessly. But we cannot assume it won't introduce new security issues.

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New paper: Powering the distribution of Tesla stealer with PowerShell and VBA macros

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Apr 19, 2018

Since their return four years ago, Office macros have been one of the most common ways to spread malware. Today, we publish a research paper which looks in detail at a campaign in which VBA macros are used to execute PowerShell code, which in turn downloads the Tesla information-stealing trojan.

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VB2017 paper: Android reverse engineering tools: not the usual suspects

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Apr 18, 2018

Within a few years, Android malware has grown from a relatively small threat to a huge problem involving more than three million new malware samples a year. Axelle Apvrille, one of the world's leading Android malware researchers, will deliver a workshop on Android reverse engineering at VB2018 in Montreal this October. Last year, Axelle presented a paper at VB2017 on some of the less common tools that can be used to reverse engineer Android malware. Today, we publish both the paper and the recording of Axelle's presentation.

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Patch early, patch often, but don't blindly trust every 'patch'

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Apr 16, 2018

Compromised websites are being used to serve fake Flash Player uploads that come with a malicious payload.

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VirusTotal project aims to remediate false positives

Security vendors to receive alerts when legitimate files are detected as malicious.
Security vendors to receive alerts when legitimate files are detected as malicious.False positives are a huge problem for the IT industry in general and for security products in… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/02/virustotal-project-aims-remediate-false-positives/

VB2014 paper: P0wned by a barcode: stealing money from offline users

Fabio Assolini explains how cybercriminals are targeting boletos.
Fabio Assolini explains how cybercriminals are targeting boletos.Since the close of the VB2014 conference in Seattle in October, we have been sharing VB2014 conference papers as… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/02/paper-p0wned-barcode-stealing-money-offline-users/

Adobe issues patch for yet another Flash Player zero-day

CVE-2015-0313 used in the wild as long ago as December.
CVE-2015-0313 used in the wild as long ago as December. Adobe has just issued an out-of-band patch for its Flash Player to fix a zero-day vulnerability that is actively being… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/02/adobe-issues-patch-yet-another-flash-player-zero-day/

VB2014 paper: We know it before you do: predicting malicious domains

Wei Xu and his colleagues attempt to block domains before they're used for bad purposes.
Wei Xu and his colleagues attempt to block domains before they're used for bad purposes.Since the close of the VB2014 conference in Seattle in October, we have been sharing VB2014… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/02/paper-we-know-it-you-do-predicting-malicious-domains/

Praise for the unsung heroes of email

Many decent performances in VB's latest comparative spam filter test.
Many decent performances in VB's latest comparative spam filter test. A decade ago, there were optimists who thought that the spam problem would soon be eradicated. At the same… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/02/praise-unsung-heroes-email/

Low VirusTotal detection rates for new malware, do they matter?

It is not as important as is often suggested — and doesn't mean the malware is allowed to execute.
It is not as important as is often suggested — and doesn't mean the malware is allowed to execute. It is fairly common these days for security researchers to write about new… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/02/low-virustotal-detection-rates-new-malware-do-they-matter/

From roadie to security rock star: it can happen

To break into security, start by getting a job in the industry.
To break into security, start by getting a job in the industry. You don't have to be a regular reader of this blog to know that computer security is very important in our… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/02/roadie-security-rock-star-it-can-happen/

'RansomWeb' ransomware targets companies' databases

Encryption first added as a patch, key only removed when all backups are encrypted.
Encryption first added as a patch, key only removed when all backups are encrypted. Make backups, they said. Then you won't have to worry about ransomware, they said. Ransomware… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/02/ransomweb-ransomware-targets-companies-databases/

February

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/02/

VB2014 paper: Ubiquitous Flash, ubiquitous exploits and ubiquitous mitigation

Chun Feng and Elia Florio analyse two Flash Player vulnerabilities and an IE one where Flash provides a helping hand.
Chun Feng and Elia Florio analyse two Flash Player vulnerabilities and an IE one where Flash provides a helping hand.Since the close of the VB2014 conference in Seattle in October,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/01/paper-ubiquitous-flash-ubiquitous-exploits-and-ubiquitous-mitigation/

Frequently asked questions about VB2015 conference submissions

No, it doesn't have to be about malware and no, it doesn't have to be deeply technical either!
No, it doesn't have to be about malware and no, it doesn't have to be deeply technical either! Last month, we opened the call for papers for VB2015, the 25th Virus Bulletin… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/01/frequently-asked-questions-about-conference-submissions/

Linux systems affected by 'GHOST' vulnerability

Proof-of-concept email gives remote access to Exim mail server.
Proof-of-concept email gives remote access to Exim mail server. If you administer Linux-based systems, you'd better schedule some time for patching, as a serious buffer overflow… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/01/linux-systems-affected-ghost-vulnerability/

VB2014 paper: Design to discover: security analytics with 3D visualization engine

Thibault Reuille and Dhia Mahjoub use DNS data to look for clusters of malicious domains.
Thibault Reuille and Dhia Mahjoub use DNS data to look for clusters of malicious domains.Since the close of the VB2014 conference in Seattle in October, we have been sharing VB2014… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/01/paper-design-discover-security-analytics-3d-visualization-engine/

Adobe to patch Flash Player zero-day next week

Patch due next week as malvertising leads to Bedep trojan downloader.
Patch due next week as malvertising leads to Bedep trojan downloader. As the news of a zero-day vulnerability in Adobe's Flash Player actively being exploited reached the security… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/01/adobe-patch-flash-player-zero-day-next-week/

Alleged Flash Player zero-day used in Angler exploit kit

Adobe 'investigating reports'.
Adobe 'investigating reports'.Vulnerable browser plug-ins are one of the most important infection vectors, which is why it is so important to keep them up to date. If you don't,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/01/alleged-flash-player-zero-day-used-angler-exploit-kit/

Research paper profiles victims of targeted attacks

Large organisations working in national security and international affairs run highest risk.
Large organisations working in national security and international affairs run highest risk. Anyone can be a target of cybercriminal attacks these days. But some are bigger targets… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/01/research-paper-profiles-victims-targeted-attacks/

Paper: Nesting doll: unwrapping Vawtrak

Raul Alvarez unwraps the many layers of an increasingly prevalent banking trojan.
Raul Alvarez unwraps the many layers of an increasingly prevalent banking trojan. Banking trojans remain one of the most prevalent kinds of malware. Among them, trojans based on… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/01/paper-nesting-doll-unwrapping-vawtrak/

VB2014 paper: OPSEC for security researchers

Vicente Diaz teaches researchers the basics of OPSEC.
Vicente Diaz teaches researchers the basics of OPSEC.Since the close of the VB2014 conference in Seattle in October, we have been sharing VB2014 conference papers as well as video… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/01/paper-opsec-security-researchers/

WhatsApp spam on the rise

End-to-end encryption makes spam filtering more difficult.
End-to-end encryption makes spam filtering more difficult. Spam sent through the WhatsApp messaging service is on the rise, mobile security firm AdaptiveMobile reports. This news… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/01/whatsapp-spam-rise/

What would Cameron's 'anti-terrorism' proposals mean for the UK?

Proposals could cause serious damage to business and the economy, and are unlikely to stop terrorism.
Proposals could cause serious damage to business and the economy, and are unlikely to stop terrorism. This week, in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on the French offices of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/01/what-would-cameron-s-anti-terrorism-proposals-mean-uk/

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