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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Search blog

11 out of 26 anti-virus products fail VB100 certification

VB reveals which products failed to meet VB100 certification criteria, and updated 'RAP quadrant' showing Reactive And Proactive detection abilities.
VB reveals which products failed to meet VB100 certification criteria, and updated 'RAP quadrant' showing Reactive And Proactive detection abilities.Virus Bulletin has revealed the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/10/11-out-26-anti-virus-products-fail-certification/

Webmail data leak hype deflated

Rumoured phishing explosion grabs headlines, reality much more mundane.
Rumoured phishing explosion grabs headlines, reality much more mundane. This week has seen some major news organisations picking up on the story of tens of thousands of sets of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/10/webmail-data-leak-hype-deflated/

Microsoft steps into free AV market

Security Essentials release creates expected storm of words.
Security Essentials release creates expected storm of words.Microsoft's release of its free Security Essentials product this week sparked the expected barrage of views and opinions… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/10/microsoft-steps-free-av-market/

October

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/10/

October issue of VB published

The October issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download.
The October issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download. The October 2009 issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to browse online or… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/10/october-issue-vb-published/

Latest AV-Comparatives test results released

High scores as 7 out of 16 graded Advanced+ in on demand tests
High scores as 7 out of 16 graded Advanced+ in on demand tests Independent testing body AV-Comparatives have released the results of their latest round of on demand anti-malware… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/09/latest-av-comparatives-test-results-released/

Rogue AV claims to send money to environmental causes

'Green AV' best added to blacklist to avoid red faces.
'Green AV' best added to blacklist to avoid red faces. In an attempt to lure users into buying it, the rogue anti-malware product Green AV claims to send US$2 per purchased product… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/09/rogue-av-claims-send-money-environmental-causes/

September

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/09/

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 2009 issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to browse online… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/09/september-issue-vb-published/

Take-down of rogue ISP sees temporary drop in spam levels

Spam levels back to normal within a few days.
Spam levels back to normal within a few days. The take-down of the rogue ISP Real Host on 1 August saw spam levels temporarily drop by more than a third, Messagelabs claims in its… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/08/take-down-rogue-isp-sees-temporary-drop-spam-levels/

Unspam files lawsuit against unnamed cybercrooks

Anti-spam firm hopes to force banks to share more information on attacks.
Anti-spam firm hopes to force banks to share more information on attacks.Unspam Technologies, the company behind Project Honey Pot, has filed a lawsuit against unnamed 'John Does',… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/08/unspam-files-lawsuit-against-unnamed-cybercrooks/

Yahoo! re-opens e-postage discussion

'CentMail' to benefit charities, harm spammers.
'CentMail' to benefit charities, harm spammers. Online giant Yahoo! has launched a website to give a charitable twist to the old idea of combating spam by making senders pay a… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/08/yahoo-re-opens-e-postage-discussion/

Anti-Obama sentiments used in spam campaign

'DDoS software' turns out to be malware.
'DDoS software' turns out to be malware. In a new spam campaign users are being urged to participate in a DDoS attack on the website of American president Barack Obama in protest… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/08/anti-obama-sentiments-used-spam-campaign/

ICANN adopts new domain tasting policy

'Free temporary registrations' come to an end.
'Free temporary registrations' come to an end. A new policy adopted by ICANN, the organization responsible for the assignment of domain names and IP addresses, has brought the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/08/icann-adopts-new-domain-tasting-policy/

August issue of VB published

The August issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download.
The August issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download. The August 2009 issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to browse online or… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/08/august-issue-vb-published/

August

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/08/

McColo shutdown not felt the same by all recipients

Mailbox-level reduction may depend on spam detection methods.
Mailbox-level reduction may depend on spam detection methods. When the rogue provider McColo was taken offline in November 2008, depriving many botnets of their command and control… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/07/mccolo-shutdown-not-felt-same-all-recipients/

Yxe trojan infecting mobile phones

Symbian software-signing slipup certifies SMS spambot.
Symbian software-signing slipup certifies SMS spambot. A new trojan, the first of its kind, is affecting users of the Symbian mobile operating system by spreading itself via text… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/07/yxe-trojan-infecting-mobile-phones/

Call for last-minute technical papers

Submissions invited for technical 'turbo' talks at VB Geneva.
Submissions invited for technical 'turbo' talks at VB Geneva. Virus Bulletin is seeking submissions from those wishing to present last-minute technical papers at VB2009. The VB… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/07/call-last-minute-technical-papers/

Five botnets responsible for 75% of spam sent

Each infected machine sends spam at rate of almost two messages per second.
Each infected machine sends spam at rate of almost two messages per second.Spam levels have increased 60% since the beginning of this year, according to security company Marshal8e6… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/07/five-botnets-responsible-75-spam-sent/

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