VB Blog

Malicious CCleaner update points to a major weakness in our infrastructure

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Sep 18, 2017

Researchers from Cisco Talos have found that a recent version of the widely used CCleaner tool installed malware on the machine.

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Despite the profitability of ransomware there is a good reason why mining malware is thriving

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Sep 15, 2017

Though ransomware is far more profitable than using a compromised PC to mine bitcoins, the global distribution of malware means that there are many botnets for which mining is the most efficient way to extract money out of a PC.

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VB2017 preview: Crypton - exposing malware's deepest secrets

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Sep 14, 2017

We preview the VB2017 paper by Julia Karpin and Anna Dorfman (F5 networks), in which they present a tool to decrypt encrypted parts of malware.

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VB2017 preview: Hacktivism and website defacement: motivations, capabilities and potential threats

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Sep 13, 2017

We preview the VB2017 paper by Marco Romagna and Niek Jan van den Hout (The Hague University of Applied Sciences), in which they thoroughly analyse the motivations and modus operandy of hacktivists.

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Three questions to ask about security product bypasses

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Sep 13, 2017

Proof-of-concepts for bypasses of security products always sound scary, but how seriously should we take them? VB Editor Martijn Grooten lists three questions one should ask about any such bypass to determine how serious a threat it represents.

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VB2017: WHOIS and EICAR Small Talks added

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Sep 12, 2017

Today, we announce two more 'Small Talks' for the VB2017 programme. In one of them, Neil Schwarzman will discuss the consequences of the GDPR for WHOIS and abuse research, while the other will be hosted by three members of EICAR, who will discuss its work on a trustworthiness strategy and minimum standard.

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VB2017: nine last-minute papers announced

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Sep 11, 2017

From attacks on Ukraine's power grid to web shells, and from car hacking to ransomware: we announce the first nine 'last-minute' papers on the VB2017 programme.

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Patching is important even when it only shows the maturity of your security process

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Sep 5, 2017

A lot of vulnerabilities that are discovered are never exploited in the wild. It is still important to patch them though.

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Massive data breach confirms what you already knew: you are getting spam

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Sep 4, 2017

A security researcher found more than 700 million email addresses stored on a server used by a spam botnet, which gives us some insight into what the email lists used by spammers look like.

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VB2017 preview: State of cybersecurity in Africa: Kenya

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Sep 4, 2017

We preview the VB2017 presentation by Tyrus Kamau (Euclid Security), who will talk about the state of cybersecurity in Africa, with a particular focus on his home country, Kenya.

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Search blog

MS report finds phishing revenues overhyped

Huge earnings may be myth, say researchers.
Huge earnings may be myth, say researchers. A report from Microsoft analysing the potential income of phishers claims that the amounts taken from duped victims of online scams may… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/01/ms-report-finds-phishing-revenues-overhyped/

AVG acquires Sana Security

Behavioural experts added to growing portfolio.
Behavioural experts added to growing portfolio.AVG has announced the acquisition of behaviour-blocking firm Sana Security, adding another level to its fast-expanding security… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/01/avg-acquires-sana-security/

Researchers crack into Storm botnet

Comms channels decrypted, automated removal possible.
Comms channels decrypted, automated removal possible. A group of German academics claim to have deciphered communications protocols used by the infamous 'Storm' botnet, allowing… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/01/researchers-crack-storm-botnet/

Virus Bulletin announces new anti-spam certification scheme

Independent security testing body to certify anti-spam products.
Independent security testing body to certify anti-spam products. Virus Bulletin has launched a new anti-spam certification scheme. Until now, end-users have had little factual… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/01/announces-new-anti-spam-certification-scheme/

CastleCops closes down

Security community project comes to an end.
Security community project comes to an end. Well-known volunteer group CastleCops, which ran campaigns to identify and bring down spamming and phishing operations for over five… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/01/castlecops-closes-down/

UK to adopt Euro police hacking scheme

Remote search and cyber patrol plans approved.
Remote search and cyber patrol plans approved. The UK Home Office has signed up to a European initiative, proposed in November, to grant police forces greater powers to hack into… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/01/uk-adopt-euro-police-hacking-scheme/

Symbian SMS pest highlighted

Mobile exploit attack disables messaging.
Mobile exploit attack disables messaging. A presentation at a popular hacking forum has brought much attention to a flaw in the SMS processing in some versions of the Symbian… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/01/symbian-sms-pest-highlighted/

Twitter hit by phishing and hacks

Popular micro-blog site latest target of link spammers.
Popular micro-blog site latest target of link spammers. The latest social networking craze, micro-blogging service Twitter, has joined the likes of MySpace and Facebook in being… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/01/twitter-hit-phishing-and-hacks/

Texan firm sues whole security world

Swathe of major security providers cited in patent infringement case.
Swathe of major security providers cited in patent infringement case. A small Texan firm has taken on the mightiest corporations from across the security and anti-malware industry,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/01/texan-firm-sues-whole-security-world/

January

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/01/

January issue of VB published

The January issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download.
The January issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download. The January 2009 issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to browse online or… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/01/january-issue-vb-published/

2009

Latest news from the anti-virus industry provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
NewsProject Honey Pot 'celebrates' billionth spam messageFacebook about to become most phished organization. 15 December 2009Botnets becoming more robustZeus botnet used Amazon's… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/

MS to release out-of-band patch for critical IE vulnerability

Users advised to patch ASAP.
Users advised to patch ASAP.Microsoft is set to release an emergency out-of-band patch for the vulnerability in its Internet Explorer browser reported last week. Attacks via the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/12/ms-release-out-band-patch-critical-ie-vulnerability/

IE zero-day danger growing

Large numbers of users vulnerable to unpatched problem.
Large numbers of users vulnerable to unpatched problem. The as-yet unpatched vulnerability in Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser, reported last week and coinciding with the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/12/ie-zero-day-danger-growing/

VB100 update

MicroWorld eScan added to list of VB100 successes for December.
MicroWorld eScan added to list of VB100 successes for December. Due to a clerical error, the eScan product from MicroWorld Technologies was omitted from the list of products… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/12/update/

FTC goes after scareware scammers

Courts crack down on pushers of rogue anti-malware.
Courts crack down on pushers of rogue anti-malware. The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced a successful move to persuade a US district court to shut down a major… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/12/ftc-goes-after-scareware-scammers/

Patch Tuesday released closely followed by emergency update

Bumper crop of patches plus further fix leave known holes open.
Bumper crop of patches plus further fix leave known holes open. This month's 'Patch Tuesday' security bulletin from Microsoft contained eight separate updates, two more than… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/12/patch-tuesday-released-closely-followed-emergency-update/

December

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/12/

Worm targets MS08-067 vulnerability

Exploit attack patches flaw once system penetrated.
Exploit attack patches flaw once system penetrated. A worm has been seen taking advantage of the vulnerability in Microsoft's Windows Server Service, patched out-of-cycle last… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/12/worm-targets-ms08-067-vulnerability/

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 2008 issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to browse online or… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/12/december-issue-vb-published/

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