VB Blog

Alleged author of creepy FruitFly macOS malware arrested

Posted by Martijn Grooten on Jan 11, 2018

A 28-year old man from Ohio has been arrested on suspicion of having created the mysterious FruitFly malware that targeted macOS and used it to spy on its victims.

Posted by Martijn Grooten on Jan 10, 2018

At the start of the new year, Virus Bulletin looks back at the threats seen in the 2017 and at the security products that are available to help mitigate them.

Posted by Martijn Grooten on Jan 9, 2018

Spamhaus's annual report on botnet activity shows that botherders tend to use popular, legitimate hosting providers, domain registrars and top-level domains when setting up command-and-control servers.

Posted by Martijn Grooten on Jan 5, 2018

As tech support scammers continue to target the computer illiterate through cold calling, VB's Martijn Grooten uses his own experience to share some advice on how to investigate such scams.

Posted by Martijn Grooten on Jan 4, 2018

Just four days into the new year, two serious attacks in modern processors, dubbed Meltdown and Spectre, have been discovered. The attacks can be mitigated by patches to the operating system, but anti-virus software vendors need to make sure their products are compatible with the patches.

Posted by Martijn Grooten on Dec 22, 2017

Martijn Grooten reports on the 20th AVAR conference, which took place earlier in December in Beijing, China.

Posted by Virus Bulletin on Dec 22, 2017

Virus Bulletin researchers report back from a very interesting fifth edition of Botconf, the botnet fighting conference.

Posted by Martijn Grooten on Dec 21, 2017

(In)security is a global issue that affects countries around the world, but in recent years none has been so badly hit as Ukraine. Today, we publish the videos of two VB2017 talks about attacks that hit Ukraine particularly badly: a talk by Alexander Adamov (NioGuard) on (Not)Petya and related attacks, and another by Robert Lipovsky and Anton Cherepanov (ESET) on Industroyer.

Posted by Martijn Grooten on Dec 21, 2017

On its website, Facebook now shows which emails it has sent you recently, thus helping you to determine which emails are real, and which should be discarded as phishing.

Posted by Martijn Grooten on Dec 19, 2017

Clarification in the language of the Wassenaar Arrangement, a multilateral export control regime for conventional arms and dual-use goods and technologies, means those involved in vulnerability disclosure or botnet takedown won't have to worry about acquiring an export licence.

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VB tests the web security products that play an important role in fending off web-based threats

The web continues to be a major infection vector for malware and credential-stealing threats. In the VBWeb tests, we measure products' ability to block such threats and certify products that perform a good job at doing so.
The web continues to be a major infection vector for individuals and organisations alike. Though the number of drive-by download attacks (often through exploit kits) is down from… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2019/10/vb-tests-web-security-products-play-important-role-fending-web-based-threats/

VB2019 papers: Emotet and Ryuk

Today we publish VB2019 papers by Luca Nagy (Sophos) on Emotet and Gabriela Nicolao and Luciano Martins (Deloitte) on Ryuk, as well as the corresponding videos of their presentations.
Shinigami’s revenge: the long tail of the Ryuk malware Read the paper (HTML) Download the paper (PDF) Exploring Emotet, an elaborate everyday enigma Read the paper… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2019/10/vb2019-papers-emotet-and-ryuk/

Responsible madness?

The debate on responsible disclosure is about as old as IT security itself. In a guest post for Virus Bulletin Robert Neumann suggests we need to reconsider a one-size-fits-all solution and instead look for a well-respected independent organization to han…
The debate on responsible disclosure is about as old as IT security itself. In a guest post for Virus Bulletin Robert Neumann suggests we need to reconsider a one-size-fits-all… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2019/10/responsible-madness/

VB2019 paper: Geost botnet. The story of the discovery of a new Android banking trojan from an OpSec error

OpSec mistakes are what lead to many malware discoveries, and in the case of the Geost Android botnet the mistake was a really interesting one. Today we publish the VB2019 paper by Sebastian García, Maria Jose Erquiaga and Anna Shirokova on the Geost botn…
Geost botnet. The story of the discovery of a new Android banking trojan from an OpSec error Read the paper (HTML) Download the paper (PDF) OpSec mistakes… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2019/10/vb2019-paper-geost-botnet-story-discovery-new-android-banking-trojan-opsec-error/

Analysis of malware responsible for sextortion spam that mines for Monero on the side

VB2019 Platinum partner Reason Cybersecurity presents a threat analysis report on the Save Yourself malware.
Reason Cybersecurity was one of the Platinum partners of VB2019. After a guest blog post published earlier this month, their researchers have written an analysis of malware they… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2019/10/analysis-malware-responsible-sextortion-spam-mines-monero-side/

Guest blog: Threat intelligence – a unifying force of the future

In a guest blog post VB2019 Platinum partner Reason Cybersecurity looks to the future of threat intelligence.
In a guest blog post VB2019 Platinum partner Reason Cybersecurity looks to the future of threat intelligence. The advent of the Internet and Internet-enabled technologies… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2019/10/guest-blog-threat-intelligence-unifying-force-future/

October

https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2019/10/

Guest blog: Why we should be paying more attention to Linux threats

In a guest blog post VB2019 Silver partner Intezer outlines the importance of paying attention to Linux threats.
In a guest blog post VB2019 Silver partner Intezer outlines the importance of paying more attention to Linux threats. In a previous blog post written for the Retail and… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2019/09/guest-blog-why-we-should-be-paying-more-attention-linux-threats/

New Emotet spam campaign continues to bypass email security products

On Monday, the infamous Emotet malware resumed its spam campaign to spread the latest version of the malware. As before, the malware successfully bypasses many email security products.
Following the resumption of activity by Emotet's C&C servers in August, it was only a matter of time before the botnet started sending out spam again. This did indeed happen on… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2019/09/new-emotet-spam-campaign-continues-bypass-email-security-products/

Book review: Cyberdanger: Understanding and Guarding Against Cybercrime

Security researcher Paul Baccas reviews Eddy Willems' book 'Cyberdanger'.
Security researcher Paul Baccas reviews 'Cyberdanger: Understanding and Guarding Against Cybercrime' by Eddy Willems Title: Cyberdanger: Understanding and… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2019/09/book-review-cyberdanger-understanding-and-guarding-against-cybercrime/

Programme for VB2019 Threat Intelligence Practitioners' Summit announced

In the mini-summit, which forms part of VB2019 (the 29th Virus Bulletin International Conference), eight sessions will focus on all aspects of threat intelligence collecting, using and sharing.
In its almost 30-year history, the Virus Bulletin Conference has evolved to become perhaps the most international threat intelligence event of the year. This is yet again… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2019/09/programme-vb2019-threat-intelligence-practitioners-summit-announced/

Guest blog: TotalAV uncovers the world’s first ransomware

In a guest blog post by VB2019 Silver partner TotalAV, Matthew Curd, the software’s Technical Expert, considers the changes in the cybersecurity landscape.
In a guest blog post by VB2019 Silver partner TotalAV, Matthew Curd, the software’s Technical Expert, considers the changes in the cybersecurity landscape. Rediscovered in an… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2019/09/guest-blog-totalav-uncovers-worlds-first-ransomware/

VB2019 preview: Small Talks

We preview the five Small Talks on the VB2019 programme in which important topics are discussed in a less formal atmosphere.
Those who attend security conferences know the importance of 'hallcon': the conversations that take place in the corridors in between sessions or sometimes between people who have… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2019/09/vb2019-preview-small-talks/

Guest blog: Targeted attacks with public tools

Over the last few years SE Labs has tested more than 50 different security products against over 5,000 targeted attacks. In this guest blog post Stefan Dumitrascu, Chief Technical Officer at SE Labs, looks at the different attack tools available, how effe…
Over the last few years, SE Labs has tested more than 50 different security products against over 5,000 targeted attacks. In this guest blog post Stefan Dumitrascu, Chief… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2019/09/guest-blog-targeted-attacks-public-tools/

September

https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2019/09/

VB2019 preview: Problem child: common patterns in malicious parent-child relationships

We preview the VB2019 paper by Endgame researcher Bobby Filar, who created a graph-based framework designed to detect malicious use of legitimate binaries through parent-child relationships.
Living-off-the-land binaries, often referred to as LOLbins, are legitimate (Windows) binaries used for malicious purposes. Their use has increased in malware campaigns in recent… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2019/09/vb2019-preview-problem-child-common-patterns-malicious-parent-child-relationships/

VB2019 preview: Inside Magecart: the history behind the covert card-skimming assault on the e-commerce industry

We preview the VB2019 paper by RiskIQ researcher Yonathan Klijnsma on the Magecart web skimming attacks.
Half a decade ago, breaches of point-of-sale (POS) systems were a real plague, especially in North America, with the 2013 Target breach perhaps the best known example. Though… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2019/08/vb2019-preview-inside-magecart-history-behind-covert-card-skimming-assault-e-commerce-industry/

VB2019 call for last-minute papers closes on Sunday (1 Sept)

Your last chance to get a speaking slot on the VB2019 programme with a talk on hot research!
The majority of the VB2019 programme was announced in April, and though we like to see VB as a conference that looks beyond the hype, we are more than a little proud that several… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2019/08/vb2019-call-last-minute-papers-closes-sunday-1st-sept/

21 organisations partner with VB2019

Record number of partner organisations for the Virus Bulletin Conference reflects very broad and international event.
Three months after we announced the first 14 partners and supporting organisations for VB2019, the 29th Virus Bulletin Conference, seven more organisations have signed up to… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2019/08/21-organisations-partner-vb2019/

VB2019 preview: Exploring Emotet, an elaborate everyday enigma

We preview the VB2019 paper by Sophos researcher Luca Nagy, who dives deeply into the notorious Emotet malware.
Active since 2014, initially as a banking trojan, Emotet has been a plague on the Internet in recent years. Emotet's core strength is its ability to download other malware, thus… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2019/08/vb2019-preview-exploring-emotet-elaborate-everyday-enigma/

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