VB Blog

First sponsors of VB2017 announced

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Mar 6, 2017

We are excited to announce the first five sponsors of VB2017, companies based in Europe, Asia and North America.

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Security products and HTTPS: let's do it better

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Feb 27, 2017

A recent paper showed that many HTTPS-intercepting security solutions have implemented TLS rather poorly. Does that mean we should avoid such solutions altogether?

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The SHA-1 hashing algorithm has been 'shattered'

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Feb 23, 2017

Researchers from Google and CWI Amsterdam have created the first known collision of the SHA-1 hashing algorithm, making a very strong case to ditch it.

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Throwback Thursday: Once a researcher...

Posted by   Helen Martin on   Feb 23, 2017

VB was saddened to learn this week of the passing of one of the pioneers of the AV industry, Ross Greenberg. This Throwback Thursday we look back at an interview with Ross in November 1995.

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VB2017: What is happening in the threat landscape and what are we doing against it? Submit a proposal in the VB2017 CFP!

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Feb 20, 2017

Have you analysed a new online threat? Do you know a new way to defend against such threats? Then submit an abstract in the CFP for VB2017!

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VB2016 paper: APT reports and OPSEC evolution, or: these are not the APT reports you are looking for

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Feb 17, 2017

APT reports are great for gaining an understanding of how advanced attack groups operate - however, they can also provide free QA for the threat actors. Today, we publish a VB2016 paper by Gadi Evron (Cymmetria) and Inbar Raz (Perimeter X), who discuss what they think is wrong with many APT reports and what can be done to improve them.

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Security for your ears: recommended infosec podcasts

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Feb 14, 2017

Industry veteran Mikko Hyppönen recently urged would-be security researchers to ditch their favourite pop music and listen to security podcasts on their commute to work instead. Virus Bulletin Editor Martijn Grooten shares his favourite security podcasts.

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VB2016 video: Getting duped: piggybacking on webcam streams for surreptitious recordings

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Feb 10, 2017

In a presentation at VB2016, Patrick Wardle, Director of Research at Synack, discussed the possibilities of Mac malware recording the user via the webcam. Today, we publish the video of Patrick's presentation.

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We shouldn't forget those most vulnerable in our digital world

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Feb 9, 2017

Virus Bulletin Editor Martijn Grooten calls for the security community not to forget those most vulnerable in the digital world, including political activists living under oppressive regimes, and victims of abuse.

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Throwback Thursday: A troubled world

Posted by   Helen Martin on   Feb 9, 2017

In early 1991, the world was a troubled place and conflict and violence were being reported globally on a daily basis. With this as a backdrop, the world of "indiscriminate" computer viruses which "victimise in a random and unpredictable manner" seemed relatively trivial to then Editor of VB, Edward Wilding.

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Scammers take advantage of Epsilon data breach

Trojan hidden as security tool for affected customers.
Trojan hidden as security tool for affected customers. Scammers are currently taking advantage of the data breach that affected email security provider Epsilon recently, by… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/04/scammers-take-advantage-epsilon-data-breach/

First AV-Test certifications of 2011 published

22 products scored on multiple scales in quarterly test report.
22 products scored on multiple scales in quarterly test report. Testing organization AV-Test has published its latest round of anti-malware certification tests, with 22 products… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/04/first-av-test-certifications-2011-published/

Department of Justice shuts down Coreflood botnet

'Stop' command sent from replaced command and control servers.
'Stop' command sent from replaced command and control servers. Earlier this week the US Department of Justice (DoJ) obtained an unprecedented temporary restraining order (TRO) that… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/04/department-justice-shuts-down-coreflood-botnet/

Adobe releases emergency update for Flash Player

Zero-day exploit actively being abused.
Zero-day exploit actively being abused.Adobe has announced it will release an update for its Flash Player on Friday 15 April, fixing a vulnerability that is currently being… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/04/adobe-releases-emergency-update-flash-player/

Ransom trojan demands Windows re-activation

Criminals make money through calls to supposedly free phone number.
Criminals make money through calls to supposedly free phone number. A new piece of ransomware has been discovered that shows the PC user a blue screen and asks them to re-activate… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/04/ransom-trojan-demands-windows-re-activation/

AV-Comparatives unveils latest on-demand results

20 products rated in large-scale detection tests.
20 products rated in large-scale detection tests. Testing organization AV-Comparatives has revealed the results of its latest on-demand test. Top-rated products include Trustport,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/04/av-comparatives-unveils-latest-demand-results/

Major email service provider suffers data breach

Financial institutions among affected customers.
Financial institutions among affected customers. Email service provider Epsilon, which carries out email marketing for many major companies, has admitted it has fallen victim to a… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/04/major-email-service-provider-suffers-data-breach/

RSA gives insight into anatomy of attack on its systems

Publicly available information used to spear phish employees.
Publicly available information used to spear phish employees. Security company RSA has released some information about how hackers gained access to its systems, giving a good… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/04/rsa-gives-insight-anatomy-attack-its-systems/

April

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/04/

April issue of VB published

The April issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download.
The April issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download. The April 2011 issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to browse online or… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/04/april-issue-vb-published/

Keylogger on Samsung laptops proves to be false alarm

AV product wrongly flags malware based on existence of directory.
AV product wrongly flags malware based on existence of directory. A number of security bloggers raised concern yesterday about the apparent presence of a keylogger on Samsung… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/03/keylogger-samsung-laptops-proves-be-false-alarm/

South Korea proposes to make security software mandatory

Law enables government to search PCs of those who do not comply.
Law enables government to search PCs of those who do not comply. A bill, proposed by a number of South Korean MPs, would make the use of security software mandatory for computer… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/03/south-korea-proposes-make-security-software-mandatory/

Rogue SSL certificates issued for popular websites

Certificates revoked, but browsers still need to be updated.
Certificates revoked, but browsers still need to be updated.Comodo, a major vendor of SSL certificates, has admitted to one of its affiliates' servers being hacked, leading to nine… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/03/rogue-ssl-certificates-issued-popular-websites/

Cutwail botnet sent 1.7 trillion spam messages

Operators made several million through botnet.
Operators made several million through botnet. Researchers from The Last Line of Defense and universities in Bochum and Santa Barbara have shared some insight into the workings of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/03/cutwail-botnet-sent-1-7-trillion-spam-messages/

Spam levels take a nose dive as Rustock apparently taken down - update

Eerie silence from Rustock botnet. Microsoft reported to have co-ordinated take down.
Eerie silence from Rustock botnet. Microsoft reported to have co-ordinated take down. Spam levels have taken a nose dive over the last 24 hours - apparently as a result of a take… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/03/spam-levels-take-nose-dive-rustock-apparently-taken-down-update/

Increase in use of mobile anti-malware protection

Poll shows smartphone users more likely to use anti-malware protection on their phones than three years ago.
Poll shows smartphone users more likely to use anti-malware protection on their phones than three years ago. In a poll of visitors to the VB website, 57% of smartphone users said… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/03/increase-use-mobile-anti-malware-protection/

Taking Brain home

Short film features Mikko Hyppönen returning first PC virus to its birthplace.
Short film features Mikko Hyppönen returning first PC virus to its birthplace. Anti-malware vendor F-Secure released a short documentary film this week to mark the 25th anniversary… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/03/taking-brain-home/

Tsunami response quick among cybercriminals

Miscreants releasing scams, phishing, scareware... within a matter of hours.
Miscreants releasing scams, phishing, scareware... within a matter of hours. As most of the world reels in shock at the devastation caused by this morning's massive earthquake in… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/03/tsunami-response-quick-among-cybercriminals/

Cybercriminals frustrated with botnet trackers

Drastic measures discussed by users of online forum.
Drastic measures discussed by users of online forum. Russian cybercriminals are willing to go to great lengths to frustrate services that hinder botnets created with the ZeuS and… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/03/cybercriminals-frustrated-botnet-trackers/

ENISA calls for revised botnet measurements

EU agency says current measures of botnet threat are misleading.
EU agency says current measures of botnet threat are misleading. European cyber security agency, ENISA (the European Network and Information Security Agency) has called for a… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/03/enisa-calls-revised-botnet-measurements/

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