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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Search blog

Attempted virus fumbles attack on F-Secure

Flawed file-infector fails to frighten Finns.
Flawed file-infector fails to frighten Finns. A highly buggy intended virus has been found to include an attempt to launch a DDoS attack on the websites of Finnish security firm… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/11/attempted-virus-fumbles-attack-f-secure/

Symantec warns of rigged Google search links

Advanced search options lead clickers straight to junk sites.
Advanced search options lead clickers straight to junk sites. Spammers have found a novel use for Google's advanced search options and 'I'm Feeling Lucky' function, using a… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/11/symantec-warns-rigged-google-search-links/

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 2007 issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to browse online or… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/11/november-issue-vb-published/

Supermarket sweep

Phishers almost get away with $10m scam.
Phishers almost get away with $10m scam. Court documents have revealed that phishers nearly managed a whopping $10 million supermarket (bank account) sweep earlier this year.… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/11/supermarket-sweep/

November

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/11/

The sound of spam

Firm reports 15 million MP3 spams in October.
Firm reports 15 million MP3 spams in October. Last month saw pump-and-dump spammers try out yet another file type for getting their message across to the gullible: MP3 audio… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/11/sound-spam/

Melissa has users CAPTCHA'd

Spammers offer strip show for correctly completed CAPTCHAs.
Spammers offer strip show for correctly completed CAPTCHAs. Spammers have spotted a new opportunity for getting humans to help them get past the CAPTCHA tests put in place to… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/11/melissa-has-users-captcha-d/

E-crime unit to get government funding?

UK government responds to House of Lords call for better policing of the Internet.
UK government responds to House of Lords call for better policing of the Internet. The UK government has indicated that it may set up a new national police unit dedicated to… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/11/e-crime-unit-get-government-funding/

Phishing trojan targets Mac OSX

DNS hijack disguised as codec threatens Apple systems.
DNS hijack disguised as codec threatens Apple systems. A new trojan affecting Apple's Mac OSX operating system - a relative rarity in the malware world - has been seen in the wild.… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/11/phishing-trojan-targets-mac-osx/

VB100 NetWare update

Updated results for VB100 NetWare comparative.
Updated results for VB100 NetWare comparative.VB regrets that some erroneous results were recorded for Symantec AntiVirus 10 in last month's comparative review on Novell NetWare… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/11/netware-update/

FTC demands more power against spyware

Prosecutions and fines needed to deter badware makers.
Prosecutions and fines needed to deter badware makers. Representatives of the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the consumer protection body which has seen some success in the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/10/ftc-demands-more-power-against-spyware/

McAfee acquires website trust mark firm

ScanAlert certification system bought for $51 million.
ScanAlert certification system bought for $51 million.McAfee has bought ScanAlert, the firm behind the 'Hacker Safe' trust mark logo, carried by some 75,000 websites to indicate… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/10/mcafee-acquires-website-trust-mark-firm/

Storm spams promise spooky Halloween

Tricks not treats as skeleton game emails link to attack.
Tricks not treats as skeleton game emails link to attack. The 'Storm' attack has once again taken advantage of a popular cultural occasion to spam out the latest wave of links to… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/10/storm-spams-promise-spooky-halloween/

Spyware maker Direct Revenue closes doors

Notorious company forced out of business by legal actions.
Notorious company forced out of business by legal actions. After numerous lawsuits and fines, adware and spyware maker Direct Revenue is no more. The firm behind a swathe of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/10/spyware-maker-direct-revenue-closes-doors/

Trend Micro invests in leak-prevention firm

Further data security added to portfolio.
Further data security added to portfolio. Security giant Trend Micro has acquired California-based data leak prevention specialist Provilla, to add its data protection technologies… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/10/trend-micro-invests-leak-prevention-firm/

Microsoft unveils January-June threat report

Security analysis shows rise in vulnerabilities, trojans and scamware.
Security analysis shows rise in vulnerabilities, trojans and scamware.Microsoft has released its latest 'Security Intelligence Report', covering the first half of 2007, showing a… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/10/microsoft-unveils-january-june-threat-report/

PDF trojan exploits Adobe flaw

Reader/Acrobat vulnerability targeted day after patch release.
Reader/Acrobat vulnerability targeted day after patch release. A vulnerability in Adobe's popular PDF-viewing software Adobe Reader and editing suite Acrobat, first reported a… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/10/pdf-trojan-exploits-adobe-flaw/

RealPlayer zero-day flaw exploited

Manufacturer responds rapidly to serious security hole.
Manufacturer responds rapidly to serious security hole. A zero-day vulnerability in the popular media playing system RealPlayer was spotted being exploited in the wild late last… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/10/realplayer-zero-day-flaw-exploited/

Latest VB100 announced

Windows 2000 Professional products to be tested.
Windows 2000 Professional products to be tested. VB has issued a call for submissions for the latest VB100 comparative review, which will measure the performance of products for… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/10/latest-announced/

Pump-and-dumpers move on to MP3 spam

Audio files latest stock pushing tactic.
Audio files latest stock pushing tactic. Pump-and-dump spammers have moved on from image spam, PDF spam and Excel spreadsheet spam to try out yet another file type: MP3 audio… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/10/pump-and-dumpers-move-mp3-spam/

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