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

More phishers and spammers face prison time

US, Dutch and Japanese police crack down on online bad guys.
US, Dutch and Japanese police crack down on online bad guys. Of a series of arrests and convictions this week, the most spectacular headlines centre on the potential 101-year… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/01/more-phishers-and-spammers-face-prison-time/

Wide support for spyware teacher

Malware infestation alleged at root of porn conviction.
Malware infestation alleged at root of porn conviction. A Connecticut teacher, recently convicted of morals offences after her laptop displayed a range of pornographic sites to a… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/01/wide-support-spyware-teacher/

MMS mobile phone exploit released

Buffer overflow vulnerability in MMS SMIL exploited.
Buffer overflow vulnerability in MMS SMIL exploited. Last month saw the publication of proof-of-concept code exploiting a vulnerability in the popular mobile phone Multimedia… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/01/mms-mobile-phone-exploit-released/

UK anti-spam victory for Microsoft

Lawsuit won against UK spammer.
Lawsuit won against UK spammer. Microsoft has won a lawsuit against a spammer based in the UK. Microsoft launched legal proceedings against 37-year-old Paul Martin McDonald after… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/01/uk-anti-spam-victory-microsoft/

January

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/01/

Sony rootkit settlement costs escalate

Use of hidden DRM software costs company $5.75m.
Use of hidden DRM software costs company $5.75m. Sony BMG Music Entertainment's ill-advised use of hidden digital rights management (DRM) software on its CDs in late 2005 has cost… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/01/sony-rootkit-settlement-costs-escalate/

Government agencies take anti-phishing action

Spear-phishing awareness training and testing for staff.
Spear-phishing awareness training and testing for staff. Personnel working for the US Coast Guard have been ordered to take phishing awareness training, while other US government… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/01/government-agencies-take-anti-phishing-action/

2007

Latest news from the anti-virus industry provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
NewsMagic lanterns shine at terroristsVirus Bulletin finds 40% of users think governments should write viruses to bug terrorists.19 December 2007$3.2 billion lost in phishing… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/

UK taxman warns of rebate phish

Mails promising tax refund just another scam.
Mails promising tax refund just another scam.Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the UK taxation authority, has issued a warning regarding a phishing campaign using its name.… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/uk-taxman-warns-rebate-phish/

Microsoft wins block on spam list seller

Court bars bulk email address sales site from further business.
Court bars bulk email address sales site from further business.Microsoft has won a judgement against a UK man accused of selling lists of email addresses for the purpose of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/microsoft-wins-block-spam-list-seller/

BitDefender vulnerability disclosed

Details released of overflow issue reported and patched.
Details released of overflow issue reported and patched.BitDefender and several security-watching sites have unveiled details of a serious overflow vulnerability in the parsing of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/bitdefender-vulnerability-disclosed/

'Big Yellow' worm exploits slow Symantec patchers

Worm spotted targeting 6-month-old vulnerability in AV products.
Worm spotted targeting 6-month-old vulnerability in AV products. An alert has been issued by eEye Digital Security researchers for a new worm, which they have called 'Big Yellow',… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/big-yellow-worm-exploits-slow-symantec-patchers/

US Postal Service accused of spamming

Customer email campaign in breach of CAN-SPAM regulations.
Customer email campaign in breach of CAN-SPAM regulations. The US Postal Service (USPS) has come under fire from anti-spam activists after a mass email campaign promoting a new… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/us-postal-service-accused-spamming/

UK phishing up 8000% in two years, says FSA

Government report shows massive rise in scams.
Government report shows massive rise in scams. A report presented to the UK government by the Financial Services Authority (FSA), the UK's financial watchdog organisation,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/uk-phishing-8000-two-years-says-fsa/

Yet more Word zero-day woes

Possible third vulnerability in popular software exploited.
Possible third vulnerability in popular software exploited. Reports are coming in of a new exploit for Microsoft's Word word processing software, amid speculation that the attack… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/yet-more-word-zero-day-woes/

European mailer society signs spyware charter

Direct marketeers' association adopts code of good behaviour.
Direct marketeers' association adopts code of good behaviour. The Federation of European Direct and Interactive Marketing (FEDMA), a common-interest and self-regulatory body for… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/european-mailer-society-signs-spyware-charter/

Ransom attacks hit webmail

Accounts held hostage by data-stealing extortionists.
Accounts held hostage by data-stealing extortionists. Following the wave of 'ransomware' attacks first spotted in the summer of 2005, online extortionists have picked another… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/ransom-attacks-hit-webmail/

Putting a price on spam

Email-forwarding system lets users set a fee to let spam through.
Email-forwarding system lets users set a fee to let spam through. Email-forwarding system Boxbe has come up with a new way around the spam problem - by letting its users set a fee… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/putting-price-spam/

Sophos vulnerabilities found, patched

Fixes issued for archive handling problems.
Fixes issued for archive handling problems. Researchers working with Tipping Point's Zero Day Initiative (ZDI) program have released details of two vulnerabilities in the Sophos… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/sophos-vulnerabilities-found-patched/

Patch Tuesday leaves Word open to attack

Old and new zero-day vulnerabilities to remain unpatched.
Old and new zero-day vulnerabilities to remain unpatched.Microsoft's monthly Patch Tuesday update release sees seven security patches for Windows operating systems and products,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/patch-tuesday-leaves-word-open-attack/

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