VB Blog

VB2019 presentation: Attor: spy platform with curious GSM fingerprinting

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Feb 11, 2020

Attor is a newly discovered cyber-espionage platform, use of which dates back to at least 2014 and which focuses on diplomatic missions and governmental institutions. Details of Attor were presented at VB2019 in London by ESET researcher Zuzana Hromcová. Today we release the recording of Zuzana's presentation.

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Why we encourage newcomers and seasoned presenters alike to submit a paper for VB2020

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Feb 6, 2020

With the call for papers for VB2020 currently open, we explain why, whether you've never presented before or you're a conference circuit veteran, if you have some interesting research to share with the community we want to hear from you!

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VB2019 paper: The cake is a lie! Uncovering the secret world of malware-like cheats in video games

Posted by   Helen Martin on   Feb 5, 2020

At VB2019 in London, Kaspersky researcher Santiago Pontiroli presented a paper on the growing illegal economy around video game cheats and its parallels with the malware industry. Today we publish both Santiago's paper and the recording of his presentation.

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VB2019 paper: Rich headers: leveraging the mysterious artifact of the PE format

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Jan 31, 2020

In a paper presented at VB2019 in London, ESET researchers Peter Kálnai and Michal Poslušný discussed the subject of rich headers and how it can be useful in malware research. Today we publish both their paper and the recording of their presentation.

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VB2019 paper: Medical IoT for diabetes and cybercrime

Posted by   Helen Martin on   Jan 28, 2020

At VB2019 in London, Fortinet researcher Axelle Apvrille presented a paper co-written with Aamir Lakhani that looked at the threats faced by those who use medical IoT devices to help manage their diabetes. Today we publish the researchers' paper, as well as the recording of Axelle's presentation.

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VB2019 paper: Spoofing in the reeds with Rietspoof

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Jan 24, 2020

In a VB2019 paper Avast researchers Jan Sirmer, Luigino Camastra and Adolf Středa revealed full details of the Rietspoof malware. Today we publish their paper and the recording of the presentation given by Jan and Luigino in London.

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New paper: Behind the scenes of GandCrab's operation

Posted by   Helen Martin on   Jan 20, 2020

The GandCrab ransomware regularly updated itself to newer versions to stay ahead of decryptors released by security researchers, and regularly included taunts, jokes and references to security organizations in its code. In a new paper, the AhnLab Security Analysis Team reveal the full details of the battle that went on between GandCrab and AhnLab.

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VB2019 paper: King of the hill: nation-state counterintelligence for victim deconfliction

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Jan 16, 2020

At VB2019 Juan Andres Guerrero-Saade looked at nation-state actors using threat intelligence for victim deconfliction. Today we publish both his paper and the recording of his presentation.

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The VB2020 call for papers - how it works

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Jan 14, 2020

With the VB2020 Call for Papers now open, we explain how the selection procedure works, which may help you during your abstract submission.

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VB2019 presentation: Targeted attacks through ISPs

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Jan 13, 2020

In 2019 we saw a rise in the number of targeted malware infections spread via ISPs and service providers. In a last-minute paper presented at VB2019 in London, Kaspersky researcher Denis Legezo discussed the details of a number of such cases. Today we release the recording of Denis' presentation.

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McAfee buys data loss firm Reconnex

$46 million acquisition announced as strong profit report released.
$46 million acquisition announced as strong profit report released.McAfee has announced its official agreement to purchase privately owned data loss prevention firm Reconnex, in a… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/08/mcafee-buys-data-loss-firm-reconnex/

DNS flaw exploitation danger growing

Slow patchers targeted by sophisticated attacks.
Slow patchers targeted by sophisticated attacks. The serious vulnerability in the implementation of DNS systems has been targeted by malicious attacks, as security watchers have… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/08/dns-flaw-exploitation-danger-growing/

Sophos makes move to buy Utimaco

€217 million bid launched for encryption specialist.
€217 million bid launched for encryption specialist. Security light-heavyweight Sophos has issued official notice of its intention to buy German encryption firm Utimaco, in a share… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/07/sophos-makes-move-buy-utimaco/

Patch Tuesday sees serious DNS flaws fixed

Nothing marked critical, but some very important patches issued.
Nothing marked critical, but some very important patches issued.Microsoft's latest 'Patch Tuesday' round of security updates for once contains no bulletins marked as 'critical',… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/07/patch-tuesday-sees-serious-dns-flaws-fixed/

Storm mails bring spoof World War 3 news

US-Iran war story used as hook for malware barrage.
US-Iran war story used as hook for malware barrage. The Storm botnet has been spamming in force again in the past week, with its expected run targeting 4th of July celebrations in… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/07/storm-mails-bring-spoof-world-war-3-news/

July

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/07/

July issue of VB published

The July issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download.
The July issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download. The July 2008 issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to browse online or download… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/07/july-issue-vb-published/

Macs under attack from trojan double whammy

Two new threats in a week spark worries of approaching Mac malware era.
Two new threats in a week spark worries of approaching Mac malware era. Users of Apple Mac systems, who have so far only suffered from minimal attention from malware creators, may… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/06/macs-under-attack-trojan-double-whammy/

China hosting over half of malicious sites

StopBadware.org report highlights Chinese dominance in web malware.
StopBadware.org report highlights Chinese dominance in web malware. A report from StopBadware.org released last week found that 52% of malicious websites were hosted in China, with… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/06/china-hosting-over-half-malicious-sites/

MAAWG unveils spam and botnet battling policies

Working group of ISPs and net operators issue traffic calming guidelines.
Working group of ISPs and net operators issue traffic calming guidelines. Global collaboration body the Messaging Anti-Abuse Working Group (MAAWG) has ratified a set of guidelines… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/06/maawg-unveils-spam-and-botnet-battling-policies/

Yet more data leaks in UK public services

Confidential health service info exposed after theft.
Confidential health service info exposed after theft. Despite a wealth of recent incidents of data loss from various areas of the UK's public services, including data sent… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/06/yet-more-data-leaks-uk-public-services/

Trojan-to-worm automation tool spotted

GUI gizmo adds extra spreading menace to any malware.
GUI gizmo adds extra spreading menace to any malware. Researchers at Panda have discovered a simple and colourful graphical application designed to add basic worm techniques to… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/06/trojan-worm-automation-tool-spotted/

LinkScanner could be behind surge in web traffic

Traffic analysts worry as AVG implements web scanning technology.
Traffic analysts worry as AVG implements web scanning technology.AVG's LinkScanner technology, added to its portfolio after the acquisition of Exploit Prevention Labs last… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/06/linkscanner-could-be-behind-surge-web-traffic/

Spyware gang sneaks millions from SA government

32 arrested but South Africa theft scam thought to be ongoing.
32 arrested but South Africa theft scam thought to be ongoing. An orchestrated series of spyware infiltrations has netted scammers over £12.8 million ($24.7 million) from the South… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/06/spyware-gang-sneaks-millions-sa-government/

41 months plus hefty fine for botherder

Cross-border operation brings adware crook to book.
Cross-border operation brings adware crook to book. A Florida man has been sentenced to 41 months in prison and fined $65,000 (approx. £32,000) after implanting bot software on… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/06/41-months-plus-hefty-fine-botherder/

Microsoft releases latest Patch Tuesday fixes

7 vulnerabilities, 3 critical, addressed in June security update.
7 vulnerabilities, 3 critical, addressed in June security update.Microsoft has issued its monthly 'Patch Tuesday' set of security fixes, with seven separate areas covered of which… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/06/microsoft-releases-latest-patch-tuesday-fixes/

File encryption blackmail scam returns

Kaspersky warns of new and nasty data-ransom trojan.
Kaspersky warns of new and nasty data-ransom trojan. Malware analysts at Kaspersky Lab have warned of the return of the 'Gpcoder' trojan, a nasty piece of 'ransomware' which… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/06/file-encryption-blackmail-scam-returns/

Microsoft increases pressure on Apple to fix Safari blended threat

'Carpet bombing' vulnerability more serious than Apple claims, MS warns.
'Carpet bombing' vulnerability more serious than Apple claims, MS warns.Microsoft, whose Internet Explorer has come under frequent criticism for security vulnerabilities, has… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/06/microsoft-increases-pressure-apple-fix-safari-blended-threat/

Spam and ID theft attacked from all sides

EU body issues warning, ICANN, Japan and Yahoo! take on spammers and phishers.
EU body issues warning, ICANN, Japan and Yahoo! take on spammers and phishers. Last week a series of major institutions took action highlighting the threat of spam and phishing,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/06/spam-and-id-theft-attacked-all-sides/

Spammers turn to DoubleClick for open redirect

Loophole in Google's AdSense solved, but new flaw quickly uncovered.
Loophole in Google's AdSense solved, but new flaw quickly uncovered. The good name of web giant Google continues to be a popular source of legitimacy among spammers, despite their… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/06/spammers-turn-doubleclick-open-redirect/

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