VB Blog

VB2017 paper: Nine circles of Cerber

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Dec 15, 2017

Cerber is one of the major names in the world of ransomware, and last year, Check Point released a decryption service for the malware. Today, we publish a VB2017 paper by Check Point's Stanislav Skuratovich describing how the Cerber decryption tool worked; we have also uploaded the video of the presentation of this paper, by Or Eshed and Yaniv Balmas.

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Attack on Fox-IT shows how a DNS hijack can break multiple layers of security

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Dec 14, 2017

Dutch security firm Fox-IT deserves praise for being open about an attack on its client network. There are some important lessons to be learned about DNS security from its post-mortem.

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Throwback Thursday: BGP - from route hijacking to RPKI: how vulnerable is the Internet?

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Dec 14, 2017

For this week's Throwback Thursday, we look back at the video of a talk Level 3's Mike Benjamin gave at VB2016 in Denver, on BGP and BGP hijacks.

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Security Planner gives security advice based on your threat model

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Dec 13, 2017

Citizen Lab's Security Planner helps you improve your online safety, based on the specific threats you are facing.

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VB2017 video: Spora: the saga continues a.k.a. how to ruin your research in a week

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Dec 11, 2017

Today, we publish the video of the VB2017 presentation by Avast researcher Jakub Kroustek and his former colleague Előd Kironský, now at ESET, who told the story of Spora, one of of the most prominent ransomware families of 2017.

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VB2017 paper: Modern reconnaissance phase on APT – protection layer

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Dec 7, 2017

During recent research, Cisco Talos researchers observed the ways in which APT actors are evolving and how a reconnaissance phase is included in the infection vector in order to protect valuable zero-day exploits or malware frameworks. At VB2017 in Madrid, two of those researchers, Paul Rascagneres and Warren Mercer, presented a paper detailing five case studies that demonstrate how the infection vector is evolving. Today we publish both Paul and Warren's paper and the recording of their presentation.

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VB2017 paper: Peering into spam botnets

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Dec 1, 2017

At VB2017 in Madrid, CERT Poland researchers Maciej Kotowicz and Jarosław Jedynak presented a paper detailing their low-level analysis of five spam botnets. Today we publish their full paper.

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Throwback Thursday: Anti-malware testing undercover

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Nov 30, 2017

We look back at the VB2016 presentation by Righard Zwienenberg (ESET) and Luis Corrons (Panda Security), in which they discussed various issues relating to anti-malware testing.

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Virus Bulletin relaunches VB Security Jobs Market for both employers and job seekers

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Nov 30, 2017

As an independent body in the IT security industry, Virus Bulletin is in an ideal position to act as a global source of information both about jobs currently available in the field and about those candidates currently seeking to start or progress their career in the industry - which is why we have relaunched the VB Security Jobs Market.

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VB2017 paper: Offensive malware analysis: dissecting OSX/FruitFly.B via a custom C&C server

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Nov 29, 2017

At VB2017 in Madrid, macOS malware researcher Patrick Wardle presented the details of a specific piece of Mac malware, FruitFly, which he analysed through a custom C&C server - a technique that will also be of interest for researchers of malware on other platforms. Today we publish both Patrick's paper and the recording of his presentation.

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January

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2012/01/

Spammers using Google open redirect

Vulnerability 'not worthy of bug bounty program'.
Vulnerability 'not worthy of bug bounty program'. Researchers at Solera Labs have discovered spammers using an open redirect at Google to hide the final destination of their link… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/12/spammers-using-google-open-redirect/

'Nitro attacks' continue

PoisonIvy trojan sent attached to email warning about the same trojan.
PoisonIvy trojan sent attached to email warning about the same trojan. Researchers at Symantec report that the 'Nitro attacks', which target a number of large companies, many of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/12/nitro-attacks-continue/

Compromised websites used to mine bitcoins

In-the-browser botnet turns victims' CPU cycles into cash for the attackers.
In-the-browser botnet turns victims' CPU cycles into cash for the attackers. Researchers have discovered a compromised website where a piece of JavaScript has been included that is… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/12/compromised-websites-used-mine-bitcoins/

December issue of VB published

The December issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download.
The December issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download. The December 2011 issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to browse online or… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/12/december-issue-vb-published/

December

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/12/

Recently discovered Java vulnerability being added to exploit kit

Kit 'patched' to include latest exploit; users urged to patch their software too.
Kit 'patched' to include latest exploit; users urged to patch their software too. Security researcher and journalist Brian Krebs has found evidence that a recently discovered… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/11/recently-discovered-java-vulnerability-being-added-exploit-kit/

SMS trojan targets Android users in eight western countries

Will another piece of mobile malware convince Google manager of the seriousness of the threat?
Will another piece of mobile malware convince Google manager of the seriousness of the threat? Researchers at Kaspersky have discovered an SMS trojan for Android phones that… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/11/sms-trojan-targets-android-users-eight-western-countries/

Latest VBSpam certification results published

Latest VBSpam results published - full report now also available.
Latest VBSpam results published - full report now also available. The results of the November VBSpam comparative review have been announced, with more distinction showing between… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/11/latest-vbspam-certification-results-published/

IETF expedites publication of RFC describing feedback loop recommendations

Document fast-tracked to be published shortly before the sad passing of its author J.D. Falk.
Document fast-tracked to be published shortly before the sad passing of its author J.D. Falk. The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) has published an RFC detailing current… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/11/ietf-expedites-publication-rfc-describing-feedback-loop-recommendations/

South Korea to ask ISPs to block port 25 traffic

Experts sceptical about long-term effects on spam levels.
Experts sceptical about long-term effects on spam levels. South Korea intends to require ISPs to block all outbound traffic on port 25 from anything but the "official" mail… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/11/south-korea-ask-isps-block-port-25-traffic/

Most free Android anti-virus 'useless', find testers

AV-Test comparative sees minimal value in free mobile protection.
AV-Test comparative sees minimal value in free mobile protection. In a comparative test run by independent anti-malware testing specialist AV-Test.org, the majority of free Android… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/11/most-free-android-anti-virus-useless-find-testers/

'Largest takedown ever' sees six arrested

Millions made through 'DNSChanger' malware.
Millions made through 'DNSChanger' malware. Six Estonian nationals have been arrested for taking part in a cybercrime ring that made money through DNS-changing malware that had… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/11/largest-takedown-ever-sees-six-arrested/

Significant rise in Chinese phishing sites

Phishers shown to care little about domain names.
Phishers shown to care little about domain names. In its latest 'Global Phishing Survey', the Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG) reports a significant increase in phishing sites… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/11/significant-rise-chinese-phishing-sites/

Support scammers up their game

Websites and Facebook accounts created to make callers appear more legitimate.
Websites and Facebook accounts created to make callers appear more legitimate. 'Support call scammers' have started to use professional-looking websites and social media accounts… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/11/support-scammers-their-game/

DNS poisoning attack targeting Brazilian customers

ISP employee suspected of changing DNS cache.
ISP employee suspected of changing DNS cache. Millions of Internet users in Brazil may have been exposed to malware after the DNS caches of their ISPs were modified to redirect… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/11/dns-poisoning-attack-targeting-brazilian-customers/

November issue of VB published

The November issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download.
The November issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download. The November 2011 issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to browse online or… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/11/november-issue-vb-published/

November

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/11/

'Meta-phish' uses attached form to evade web filters

Landing page contains clear warning.
Landing page contains clear warning. A phishing email targeting Austrian credit card users evades web filters by using an attached HTML form, but thankfully the landing page on the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/10/meta-phish-uses-attached-form-evade-web-filters/

'Son of Stuxnet' trojan found

'Duqu' used in targeted attacks to steal specific information.
'Duqu' used in targeted attacks to steal specific information. Researchers at both Symantec and McAfee have discovered a new Remote Access Trojan (RAT) with strong links to Stuxnet… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/10/son-stuxnet-trojan-found/

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