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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Vulnerability reported in IE

ActiveX flaw opens another hole in MS browser.
ActiveX flaw opens another hole in MS browser. Yet another bug has been found in Microsoft's browser Internet Explorer, only days after a previous problem was patched for the third… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/09/vulnerability-reported-ie/

Symantec hit by vulnerabilities

Two flaws in alert handling unveiled.
Two flaws in alert handling unveiled. Two separate vulnerabilites in the alert notification handling systems of Symantec products have been reported this week. Symantec Client… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/09/symantec-hit-vulnerabilities/

Chain letter email reaps addresses

Fake research a harvesting trick by spammers.
Fake research a harvesting trick by spammers. An email widely spammed out in recent days claiming to be part of a research project into email use is in fact a scam designed to… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/09/chain-letter-email-reaps-addresses/

Spamhaus fined $11.7 million for blocking spam

US judgement meaningless, says UK anti-spam project.
US judgement meaningless, says UK anti-spam project. An Illinois court has passed a judgement demanding UK-based spam advisory organisation Spamhaus pay $11.7 million in damages to… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/09/spamhaus-fined-11-7-million-blocking-spam/

ISP wins $11 million from spammers

Judgement in EarthLink lawsuit grants heavy payout.
Judgement in EarthLink lawsuit grants heavy payout. US ISP giant EarthLink, a regular champion of the CAN-SPAM Act, has won yet another case against a spammer. The judgement passed… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/09/isp-wins-11-million-spammers/

Sony DRM/AOL combo breaks computers

Anti-spyware tool attacks rootkit, kills CD drive.
Anti-spyware tool attacks rootkit, kills CD drive. An alert has been issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas, warning that an anti-spyware product from AOL has a… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/09/sony-drm-aol-combo-breaks-computers/

Patch Tuesday light on patches

MS patches previous patches, but not Word exploit.
MS patches previous patches, but not Word exploit.Microsoft's monthly 'Patch Tuesday' release of security fixes has been relatively quiet, with only three new bugs repaired, in… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/09/patch-tuesday-light-patches/

Barclays phish spammed widely

64% of recent phishes targeting global brand.
64% of recent phishes targeting global brand. Reports from Panda Software warn of a major phishing campaign targeting users of Barclays online banking, causing a 30% rise in… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/09/barclays-phish-spammed-widely/

Star sites host most malware

Celebrities bigger lure than sex, says McAfee.
Celebrities bigger lure than sex, says McAfee. A report on adware and spyware from McAfee has stated that celebrity sites, rather than those pushing pornography or other widely… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/09/star-sites-host-most-malware/

Zotob authors jailed

One year, two years for worm writing duo.
One year, two years for worm writing duo. Courts in Morocco have convicted two men accused of having a hand in the creation and distribution of the 'Zotob' worm, which struck… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/09/zotob-authors-jailed/

Fake news site carries trojan

Conspiracy warning spam points to exploit web page.
Conspiracy warning spam points to exploit web page. A spam campaign is directing Australian readers to a faked news site designed to drop a trojan. The initial mails carry a stark… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/09/fake-news-site-carries-trojan/

Phishing records broken in July

Highest ever numbers of phishing sites and brands, reports APWG.
Highest ever numbers of phishing sites and brands, reports APWG. 154 brands were recorded as targets for phishing attempts in July, according to the Anti Phishing Working Group… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/09/phishing-records-broken-july/

Spearphishers track eBay trades

Auction losers tempted by second-chance phishes.
Auction losers tempted by second-chance phishes. As part of the general trend of more focused phishing, users of online auction house eBay are reporting phishes directly targeting… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/09/spearphishers-track-ebay-trades/

Botnet keepers rake in adware cash

Zombie herder makes $430 per day from single piece of adware.
Zombie herder makes $430 per day from single piece of adware. According to research by the German Honeynet Project, a botnet controller who installed adware including DollarRevenue… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/09/botnet-keepers-rake-adware-cash/

More AV products suffer flaws

Vulnerabilities found in AntiVir and avast!.
Vulnerabilities found in AntiVir and avast!. Security defects in two anti-virus products have been reported by security watch company Secunia in the last week. While the AntiVir… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/09/more-av-products-suffer-flaws/

Samsung site hosting malware

Websense reports trojans found on electronics giant's servers.
Websense reports trojans found on electronics giant's servers. A US-hosted website belonging to Samsung Telecommunications America, a subsidiary of South Korean electronics giant… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/09/samsung-site-hosting-malware/

Zango not guilty on spyware charges

Spyware bad, adware OK, says court.
Spyware bad, adware OK, says court. Adware-supported 'online media company' Zango has had accusations of using spyware dashed by a Chicago, Illinois court. The class action case,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/09/zango-not-guilty-spyware-charges/

Phishers cast nets less wide

More scams hitting fewer targets, says report.
More scams hitting fewer targets, says report. According to RSA Security's August report on online fraud, the number of brands attacked by phishing scams fell by 20% last month,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/09/phishers-cast-nets-less-wide/

'Magic Quadrant' study unveiled

AV industry future revealed - must do better.
AV industry future revealed - must do better. Industry analyst and predictor Gartner has released its annual 'Magic Quadrant' study of the current state and likely future of the AV… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/09/magic-quadrant-study-unveiled/

MS sues UK spammer

Civil action avoids spam law technicalities.
Civil action avoids spam law technicalities.Microsoft has sued and reached an out-of-court settlement with UK spammer Paul Fox, after apparently despairing of finding any success… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/09/ms-sues-uk-spammer/

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