VB Blog

DMARC: an imperfect solution that can make a big difference

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jul 24, 2017

US Senator Ron Wyden has asked the Department of Homeland Security to implement DMARC. Martijn Grooten looks at what difference this could make for phishing attacks impersonating the US federal governent.

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Advanced and inept persistent threats to be discussed at VB2017

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jul 20, 2017

Unsurprisingly given today's threat landscape, the VB2017 programme contains several talks on various advanced persistent threats - but also a talk on what may be the polar opposite of such threats: an inept persistent threat.

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Password security is 1% choosing a half-decent password, 99% not using it anywhere else

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jul 18, 2017

Password security advice focuses too much on password strength and too little on avoiding password reuse, Martijn Grooten argues.

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Save the dates: VB2018 to take place 3-5 October 2018

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jul 17, 2017

Though the location will remain a secret for a few more months, we are pleased to announce the dates for VB2018, the 28th Virus Bulletin International Conference.

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Review: BSides Athens 2017

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jul 10, 2017

The second edition of BSides Athens saw a great and varied programme presented in the Greek capital. VB's Martijn Grooten was pleased to attend.

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Let's not help attackers by spreading fear, uncertainty and doubt

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jul 7, 2017

Spreading 'FUD' in the wake of cyber-attacks is never a good idea. But it's even worse when this might be one of the attackers' implicit goals.

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Calling next-gen security researchers: student discount for VB2017 announced

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jul 7, 2017

For the third year in a row, we have set aside a limited number of student tickets for the Virus Bulletin conference, to allow 'next-generation' security researchers to experience one of the most important gatherings of security researchers around the world.

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Nominations opened for fourth Péter Szőr Award

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jul 4, 2017

Virus Bulletin has opened nominations for the fourth annual Péter Szőr Award, for the best piece of technical security research published between 1 July 2016 and 30 June 2017.

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VB2016 paper: BlackEnergy – what we really know about the notorious cyber attacks

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jul 3, 2017

According to some researchers, there is some evidence linking the recent (Not)Petya attacks with the BlackEnergy group - which became infamous for its targeted attacks against the Ukraine. At VB2016, ESET researchers Anton Cherepanov and Robert Lipovsky spoke about BlackEnergy, providing an overview of the group's attacks. Today, we publish their paper.

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Security advice in the wake of WannaCry and Not(Petya)

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jun 30, 2017

As WannaCry and (Not)Petya have shown, malware attacks can do a lot of damage. So is staying safe just a case of following good security advice?

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'Mobile Thursday' at the VB conference

Record number of presentations dedicated to threats affecting smartphones.
Record number of presentations dedicated to threats affecting smartphones. The significant increase in mobile threats is reflected in the VB2013 programme, which includes seven… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/09/mobile-thursday-vb-conference/

VB2013 speaker spotlight

We speak to VB2013 presenter Sergey Golovanov about business-to-government malware.
We speak to VB2013 presenter Sergey Golovanov about business-to-government malware. The VB2013 conference takes place this autumn (2-4 October) in Berlin, with an exciting… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/09/speaker-spotlight-golovanov/

VB2013 last-minute papers and keynote announced

Hot topics to be covered at VB conference in Berlin.
Hot topics to be covered at VB conference in Berlin. We thought that the 45 previously announced VB2013 papers, together with the panel discussion, already made for a really… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/09/last-minute-papers-and-keynote-announced/

Backdoored standards show we desperately need more cryptographers

Too few currently possess the skills to verify standards.
Too few currently possess the skills to verify standards. Recent revelations of the NSA's crypto-breaking capabilities have led to calls for better cryptography. But we need more… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/09/backdoored-standards-show-we-desperately-need-more-cryptographers/

Syrian conflict used in pump-and-dump spam

Short campaign could have had desired effect.
Short campaign could have had desired effect.Pump-and-dump spam is almost as old as spam itself: emails are sent out promoting worthless 'penny stocks', which have been purchased… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/09/syrian-conflict-used-pump-and-dump-spam/

Box-ticking mentality leads to insecurity

Credit card company fails to understand how authentication works.
Credit card company fails to understand how authentication works. Security experts often bemoan a 'box-ticking' mentality and argue that in many cases ticking boxes doesn't address… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/09/box-ticking-mentality-leads-insecurity/

VB2013 speaker spotlight

We speak to VB2013 presenter Andrei Serbanoiu about Facebook ad spam and scams, and what he aims to bring to VB2013.
We speak to VB2013 presenter Andrei Serbanoiu about Facebook ad spam and scams, and what he aims to bring to VB2013.The VB2013 conference takes place this autumn (2-4 October) in… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/09/speaker-spotlight-serbanoiu/

Updated botnet likely cause of surge in Tor traffic

New Tor version should help the network deal with increased traffic.
New Tor version should help the network deal with increased traffic. Sometimes a picture says more than a thousand words: The graph shows the daily number of users of the Tor… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/09/updated-botnet-likely-cause-surge-tor-traffic/

Malware spoofing HTTP Host header to hide C&C communication

Traffic appears as requests to Google or Yandex.
Traffic appears as requests to Google or Yandex. There have been several recent examples of malware using a spoofed HTTP Host header to hide communucation with its control servers.… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/09/malware-spoofing-http-host-header-hide-c-amp-c-communication/

Phone support scams: an old scam with some new tricks

Files in Prefetch directory supposedly show malware infections.
Files in Prefetch directory supposedly show malware infections. Telephone support scams have been going on for quite a long time, and have received a fair amount of publicity,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/09/phone-support-scams-old-scam-some-new-tricks/

September issue of VB published

The September issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download.
The September issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download. The September 2013 issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to browse online… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/09/september-issue-vb-published/

September

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/09/

VB2013 speaker spotlight

We speak to Joe Blackbird and Bill Pfeifer about how anti-malware protection states affect infection rates.
We speak to Joe Blackbird and Bill Pfeifer about how anti-malware protection states affect infection rates. The VB2013 conference takes place this autumn (2-4 October) in Berlin,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/08/speaker-spotlight-blackbirdpfeifer/

Kelihos checks machines' IP addresses against DNS blacklists

Role of node in a botnet dependent on whether the IP address is blacklisted.
Role of node in a botnet dependent on whether the IP address is blacklisted. Whenever I look at the results of the VBSpam tests, it always amazes me how large a percentage of spam… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/08/kelihos-checks-machines-ip-addresses-against-dns-blacklists/

New email header attempts to prevent damage of reissued email addresses

Transactional emails not delivered if the account's owner has changed in the meantime.
Transactional emails not delivered if the account's owner has changed in the meantime. When in June, Yahoo announced it would free up inactive user IDs, it received fierce… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/08/new-email-header-attempts-prevent-damage-reissued-email-addresses/

VB2013 speaker spotlight

We speak to Gunter Ollmann about the growing need to assess corporate security defences from a hacker's perspective.
We speak to Gunter Ollmann about the growing need to assess corporate security defences from a hacker's perspective. The VB2013 conference takes place this autumn (2-4 October) in… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/08/speaker-spotlight-ollmann/

VB2013 speaker spotlight

We speak to Roman Unuchek about malicious redirection of mobile users, his research interests, and what he aims to bring to VB2013.
We speak to Roman Unuchek about malicious redirection of mobile users, his research interests, and what he aims to bring to VB2013. The VB2013 conference takes place this autumn… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/08/speaker-spotlight-unuchek/

DNSSEC glitch causes .gov sites to become inaccessible

Name servers unable to distinguish faulty from rogue responses.
Name servers unable to distinguish faulty from rogue responses. A glitch at VeriSign yesterday led to DNSSEC-aware name servers being unable to verify responses on the .gov… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/08/dnssec-glitch-causes-gov-sites-become-inaccessible/

Researchers demonstrate how IPv6 can easily be used to perform MitM attacks

Many devices simply waiting for router advertisements, good or evil.
Many devices simply waiting for router advertisements, good or evil. When early last year I was doing research for an article on IPv6 and security, I was surprised to learn how… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/08/researchers-demonstrate-how-ipv6-can-easily-be-used-perform-mitm-attacks/

ATM manufacturer pays respects to hacker who broke into its systems

Both Barnaby Jack and Triton showed how white-hat hacking should be done.
Both Barnaby Jack and Triton showed how white-hat hacking should be done. A tribute to the late Barnaby Jack by the company whose systems he hacked shows how hackers can really… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/08/atm-manufacturer-pays-respects-hacker-who-broke-its-systems/

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