VB Blog

VB2018 paper: Fake News, Inc.

Posted by   Helen Martin on   Apr 25, 2019

A former reporter by profession, Andrew Brandt's curiosity was piqued when he came across what appeared at first glance to be the website of a small-town newspaper based in Illinois, but under scrutiny, things didn’t add up. At VB2018 he presented a paper in which he shared the results of his investigation of the site. Today, we publish his paper and the recording of his presentation.

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Paper: Alternative communication channel over NTP

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Apr 24, 2019

In a new paper published today, independent researcher Nikolaos Tsapakis writes about the possibilities of malware using NTP as a covert communication channel and how to stop this.

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VB2019 conference programme announced

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Apr 5, 2019

VB is excited to reveal the details of an interesting and diverse programme for VB2019, the 29th Virus Bulletin International Conference, which takes place 2-4 October in London, UK.

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VB2018 paper: Under the hood - the automotive challenge

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Mar 27, 2019

Car hacking has become a hot subject in recent years, and at VB2018 in Montreal, Argus Cyber Security's Inbar Raz presented a paper that provides an introduction to the subject, looking at the complex problem, examples of car hacks, and the challenges ahead. Today, we publish both Inbar's paper and the recording of his presentation.

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VB2018 paper and video: Android app deobfuscation using static-dynamic cooperation

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Mar 20, 2019

Static analysis and dynamic analysis each have their shortcomings as methods for analysing potentially malicious files. Today, we publish a VB2018 paper by Check Point researchers Yoni Moses and Yaniv Mordekhay, in which they describe a method that combines static and dynamic analysis to defeat app obfuscation in Android binaries. We also publish the video of their presentation.

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VB2019 call for papers closes this weekend

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Mar 15, 2019

The call for papers for VB2019 closes on 17 March, and while we've already received many great submissions, we still want more!

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Registration open for VB2019 ─ book your ticket now!

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Mar 13, 2019

Registration for VB2019, the 29th Virus Bulletin International Conference, is now open, with an early bird rate available until 1 July.

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The VB2019 call for papers is about ... papers

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Mar 8, 2019

When we are calling for papers for the Virus Bulletin conference as we are doing now, we really mean a written paper. But don't worry if you've never written a paper - we can help!

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VB2018 video: Adware is just malware with a legal department - how we reverse engineered OSX/Pirrit, received legal threats, and survived

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Mar 8, 2019

Amit Serper first analysed the OSX/Pirrit adware in 2016, highlighting some of its malware-like techniques, and soon afterwards started receiving legal threats from the company behind it. At VB2018 Amit gave a presentation in which he discussed both the adware and the legal threats he received for calling it malware. Today, we publish the video of Amit's presentation.

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VB2018 paper: Anatomy of an attack: detecting and defeating CRASHOVERRIDE

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Mar 5, 2019

In December 2016, the CRASHOVERRIDE malware framework was used to cause a blackout in Ukraine. At VB2018 in Montreal, Dragos researcher Joe Slowik presented a detailed paper on the framework, explaining how the malware works and how it targets various protocols used to operate the electric grid. Today we publish both Joe's paper and the recording of his presentation.

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Microsoft to replace OneCare with free AV product

OneCare retirement announced, new product will be lighter on systems and pockets.
OneCare retirement announced, new product will be lighter on systems and pockets.Microsoft has announced plans to put an end to its home-user security product Live OneCare, and to… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/11/microsoft-replace-onecare-free-av-product/

ICANN pulls plug on registrar favoured by cyber crooks

After a week's stay of execution, ICANN decides EstDomains will be terminated.
After a week's stay of execution, ICANN decides EstDomains will be terminated. ICANN, the organization responsible for managing the assignment of domain names and IP addresses, has… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/11/icann-pulls-plug-registrar-favoured-cyber-crooks/

Disconnection of dubious provider sees spam levels plummet

Web-hosting firm believed to be responsible for 75% of spam.
Web-hosting firm believed to be responsible for 75% of spam. Anti-spam researchers across the world reported a significant drop in the volume of spam seen after web-hosting firm… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/11/disconnection-dubious-provider-sees-spam-levels-plummet/

Two updates in Microsoft's November's patch release

Just two updates released by Microsoft this month: one rated critical, one important.
Just two updates released by Microsoft this month: one rated critical, one important.Microsoft has issued two updates in the November round of its monthly patch release cycle, one… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/11/two-updates-microsoft-s-november-s-patch-release/

Riders on a Storm

Researchers hijack botnet - and find spam success rates lower than previously believed.
Researchers hijack botnet - and find spam success rates lower than previously believed. Less than 1 in 12 million spam emails sent through the infamous Storm botnet led to a… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/11/riders-storm/

November issue of VB published

The November issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download.
The November issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download. The November 2008 issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to browse online or… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/11/november-issue-vb-published/

November

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/11/

Microsoft issues emergency patch

Out-of-cycle update fixes serious, wormable flaw.
Out-of-cycle update fixes serious, wormable flaw.Microsoft has issued an emergency update to cover a serious vulnerability in the Windows Server service, breaking its usual monthly… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/10/microsoft-issues-emergency-patch/

Sarkozy bank account raided by cybercrooks

Hackers steal from French president - phish suspected.
Hackers steal from French president - phish suspected. French president Nicolas Sarkozy has had his funds stolen from his bank account, apparently after a phishing email tricked… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/10/sarkozy-bank-account-raided-cybercrooks/

Latest VB100 announced

Products for 64-bit Vista to be put through paces.
Products for 64-bit Vista to be put through paces. VB has announced the latest round of VB100 testing, with products running on the 64-bit version of Microsoft's Windows Vista to… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/10/latest-announced/

US ISPs urged to snoop on traffic

NY Attorny General promotes deep packet inspection to AOL.
NY Attorny General promotes deep packet inspection to AOL. ISPs in the US are coming under increasing pressure to impose deep probing of all their customers' traffic, with the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/10/us-isps-urged-snoop-traffic/

McAfee false positive flags Vista component

Innocent file labelled trojan.
Innocent file labelled trojan.McAfee has updated one of its detections after a faulty update led to an integral component of the Windows Vista operating system being falsely… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/10/mcafee-false-positive-flags-vista-component/

Security dominates software sales charts

AV, IS and anti-spyware products represent nine of last month's top 20 bestsellers.
AV, IS and anti-spyware products represent nine of last month's top 20 bestsellers. Sales of security products remain very strong despite economic conditions, according to market… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/10/security-dominates-software-sales-charts/

Ham disguised as spam

Webshop makes mass-mailing look like phishing scam.
Webshop makes mass-mailing look like phishing scam. An email addressed to 'Dear customer', in which a user is asked to check their account details, using a link that does not lead… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/10/ham-disguised-spam/

Vulnerability test raises hackles

Secunia suite trial slates lack of PoC detection, but test methods called into question.
Secunia suite trial slates lack of PoC detection, but test methods called into question. Vulnerability specialist Secunia published the results of a trial of internet security… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/10/vulnerability-test-raises-hackles/

Researchers urge anti-phishing companies to share data

Estimate over $300 million lost annually because data is not shared.
Estimate over $300 million lost annually because data is not shared. Researchers have revealed malicious websites are often active for longer than they ought to be due to a lack of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/10/researchers-urge-anti-phishing-companies-share-data/

VB2008 photos online

VB delegates at work, rest and play in Ottawa.
VB delegates at work, rest and play in Ottawa. A selection of photographs from the VB2008 conference in Ottawa is now available to browse online. The photographs can be searched by… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/10/photos-online/

Four critical updates this Patch Tuesday

11 updates to be issued by Microsoft in October's monthly patch release: 4 critical.
11 updates to be issued by Microsoft in October's monthly patch release: 4 critical.Microsoft has prepared a total of 11 updates for the October round of its monthly patch release… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/10/four-critical-updates-patch-tuesday/

MessageLabs acquired by Symantec

Acquisition deal valued at $695m.
Acquisition deal valued at $695m. Security industry heavyweight Symantec has announced a definitive agreement to acquire software-as-a-service security specialist MessageLabs.… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/10/messagelabs-acquired-symantec/

October

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/10/

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