VB Blog

VB2019 paper: Defeating APT10 compiler-level obfuscations

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Mar 13, 2020

At VB2019 in London, Carbon Black researcher Takahiro Haruyama presented a paper on defeating compiler-level obfuscations used by the APT10 group. Today we publish both Takahiro's paper and the recording of his presentation.

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VB2019 paper: Attribution is in the object: using RTF object dimensions to track APT phishing weaponizers

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Mar 12, 2020

At VB2019 in London Michael Raggi (Proofpoint) and Ghareeb Saad (Anomali) presented a paper on the 'Royal Road' exploit builder (or weaponizer) and how the properties of RTF files can be used to track weaponizers and their users. Today we publish both their paper and the recording of their presentation.

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VB2019 presentation: Nexus between OT and IT threat intelligence

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Mar 11, 2020

Operational technology, the mission critical IT in ICS, shares many similarities with traditional IT systems, but also some crucial differences. During the Threat Intelligence Practitioners’ Summit at VB2019, Dragos cyber threat intelligence analyst Selena Larson gave a keynote on these similarities and differences. Today we release the recording of her presentation.

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VB2019 paper: Kimsuky group: tracking the king of the spear-phishing

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Mar 10, 2020

In a paper presented at VB2019 in London, researchers fron the Financial Security Institute detailed the tools and activities used by the APT group 'Kimsuky', some of which they were able to analyse through OpSec failures by the group. Today, we publish their paper.

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VB2019 paper: Play fuzzing machine - hunting iOS and macOS kernel vulnerabilities automatically and smartly

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Mar 9, 2020

In a paper presented at VB2019 in London, Trend Micro researchers Lilang Wu and Moony Li explained how the hunt for vulnerabilities in MacOS and iOS operating systems can be made both smarter and more automatic. Today we publish both their paper and the recording of their presentation.

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VB2019 paper: Finding drive-by rookies using an automated active observation platform

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Mar 6, 2020

In a last-minute paper presented at VB2019 in London, Rintaro Koike (NTT Security) and Yosuke Chubachi (Active Defense Institute, Ltd) discussed the platform they have built to automatically detect and analyse exploit kits. Today we publish the recording of their presentation.

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VB2019 paper: Pulling the PKPLUG: the adversary playbook for the long-standing espionage activity of a Chinese nation state adversary

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Feb 28, 2020

The activities of China-based threat actor PKPLUG were detailed in a VB2019 paper by Palo Alto Networks researcher Alex Hinchliffe, who described the playbook of this long-standing adversary. Today we publish both Alex's paper and the recording of his presentation.

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VB2019 paper: Static analysis methods for detection of Microsoft Office exploits

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Feb 25, 2020

Today we publish the VB2019 paper and presentation by McAfee researcher Chintan Shah in which he described static analysis methods for the detection of Microsoft Office exploits.

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New paper: LokiBot: dissecting the C&C panel deployments

Posted by   Helen Martin on   Feb 17, 2020

First advertised as an information stealer and keylogger when it appeared in underground forums in 2015, LokiBot has added various capabilities over the years and has affected many users worldwide. In a new paper researcher Aditya Sood analyses the URL structure of the LokiBot C&C panels and how they have evolved over time.

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VB2019 presentation: Building secure sharing systems that treat humans as features not bugs

Posted by   Helen Martin on   Feb 14, 2020

In a presentation at VB2019 in London, Virtru's Andrea Limbago described how, by exploring data sharing challenges through a socio-technical lens, it is possible to make significant gains toward the secure sharing systems and processes that are vital for innovation and collaboration. Today we release the recording of her presentation.

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Search blog

What's in a number?

Latest round of spam stats.
Latest round of spam stats. According to various reports last month, spam now accounts for 83%, 85%, 91.9% or 95% of all emails received. Regardless of the inconsistencies, the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/10/what-s-number/

China to try e-stamping out spam

Postage stamps to become the norm for Chinese emailers?
Postage stamps to become the norm for Chinese emailers? The national Internet regulator in China has announced future plans to introduce 'e-stamp' technology in an attempt to curb… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/10/china-try-e-stamping-out-spam/

Another security hole found in GMail

Vulnerability latest in a growing list of holes in Google's web applications.
Vulnerability latest in a growing list of holes in Google's web applications. A significant security hole has been found in Google's web mail application GMail. Security… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/09/another-security-hole-found-gmail/

Vulnerabilities closed in OpenOffice, StarOffice

Flaws patched in TIFF parsing code.
Flaws patched in TIFF parsing code. Security researchers at iDefense revealed last week that OpenOfficeversion 2.0.4 and earlier versions are vulnerable to maliciously crafted TIFF… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/09/vulnerabilities-closed-openoffice-staroffice/

Fujacks/Panda virus authors sentenced, offered job

Fujacks author put away for four years.
Fujacks author put away for four years. Four men who were charged last month with writing, selling and spreading the W32/Fujacks virus and worm (a.k.a. the 'Panda burning… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/09/fujacks-panda-virus-authors-sentenced-offered-job/

Microsoft files further adware patent

User behaviour monitors could be used to target ads.
User behaviour monitors could be used to target ads. Following a patent application disclosed some months ago, details have been released of another adware scheme patented by… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/09/microsoft-files-further-adware-patent/

St. Petersburg US Consulate website hacked

Malware served by official government site.
Malware served by official government site. Web-watchers at Sophos have reported spotting malware hosted on the website of the US Consulate in St. Petersburg, using obfuscated… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/09/st-petersburg-us-consulate-website-hacked/

Boot virus shipped on German laptops

Aged malware installed on batch of Vista systems.
Aged malware installed on batch of Vista systems. A consignment of laptops from German manufacturer Medion, sold through German and Danish branches of giant retail chain Aldi, have… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/09/boot-virus-shipped-german-laptops/

VB2007 last-minute hot-topic papers revealed

Schedule for up-to-the-minute tech talks announced.
Schedule for up-to-the-minute tech talks announced.VB has unveiled the schedule for a series of up-to-the-minute technical presentations at the VB2007 conference next week (19-21… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/09/last-minute-hot-topic-papers-revealed/

Quiet Patch Tuesday

Four flaws fixed in minimal security update.
Four flaws fixed in minimal security update.Microsoft's monthly 'Patch Tuesday' release of security updates for Windows and other software has been fairly quiet this month - with… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/09/quiet-patch-tuesday/

AOL quietly drops free-to-all AV offering

Gratis software now for members only, old users may be at risk.
Gratis software now for members only, old users may be at risk. A month ago we reported on AOL's switch of providers for its free anti-virus software offering, from the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/09/aol-quietly-drops-free-all-av-offering/

New worm spreading via Skype

Multilingual malware posing as porn in chat messages.
Multilingual malware posing as porn in chat messages. VoIP and chat system Skype has been targeted by another worm, sending chat messages to harvested contacts posing as links to… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/09/new-worm-spreading-skype/

Yahoo!-owned ad firm serves up trojans

Infectious flash adverts displayed on major sites.
Infectious flash adverts displayed on major sites. Advertising supplied by ad firm Right Media, a company bought out by web giant Yahoo! earlier this year after an initial… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/09/yahoo-owned-ad-firm-serves-trojans/

Storm DDoS hits anti-scam sites

419 fighters attacked - NFL and TOR latest spam hooks.
419 fighters attacked - NFL and TOR latest spam hooks. The massive botnet amassed by the 'Storm' (Zhelatin/Nuwar/Dorf/etc.) attack continues to target new victims, with the TOR… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/09/storm-ddos-hits-anti-scam-sites/

Minor flaws patched in Sophos AV

Security vulnerabilities found and fixed.
Security vulnerabilities found and fixed. Two separate flaws have been reported in Sophos's anti-virus engine, affecting most of its product range and allowing security bypass and… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/09/minor-flaws-patched-sophos-av/

Kaspersky-Zango case heralded as groundbreaking

Judge sets precedent upholding users' rights to block badware.
Judge sets precedent upholding users' rights to block badware. A lawsuit brought by adware-pusher Zango against Kaspersky Lab was dismissed last week, with the judge in the case… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/09/kaspersky-zango-case-heralded-groundbreaking/

Cybercrime rivals real-world crime rates

Researchers estimate 3 million online crimes committed in UK last year.
Researchers estimate 3 million online crimes committed in UK last year. A research group has issued a report estimating levels of cybercrime in the UK during 2006, finding that an… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/09/cybercrime-rivals-real-world-crime-rates/

Spamhaus $11 million fine thrown out

Appeal court quashes earlier e360 compensation ruling.
Appeal court quashes earlier e360 compensation ruling. Anti-spam operation Spamhaus, previously ordered to pay $11 million to mass-mailing firm e360 Insight after refusing to… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/09/spamhaus-11-million-fine-thrown-out/

China denies Pentagon hacking claims

'Hacked by Chinese' row rumbles on.
'Hacked by Chinese' row rumbles on. The Chinese government has vigorously denied accusations, made in a report in UK newspaper The Financial Times on Monday, that Chinese hackers… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/09/china-denies-pentagon-hacking-claims/

APWG and FTC combine to fight ID fraud

Agencies join forces to release safety guidance documents.
Agencies join forces to release safety guidance documents. The Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG) and the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have pooled their resources and… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/09/apwg-and-ftc-combine-fight-id-fraud/

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