VB Blog

VB2018 paper: Little Brother is watching – we know all your secrets!

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Feb 1, 2019

At VB2018 in Montreal, researchers from Fraunhofer SIT looked at privacy vulnerabilities in legitimate Android family-tracking apps that leaked location data. Today, we publish both their paper and the video of their presentation.

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Threat intelligence teams should consider recruiting journalists

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 29, 2019

Threat intelligence teams would do well to recruit journalists, whose experience is crucial in today's threat landscape.

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From HSBC to product descriptions: the malicious emails bypassing your filters

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 28, 2019

Using data from our VBSpam lab, we looked at the malicious emails that have been missed recently by a large number of email security products.

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VB2018 paper: Inside Formbook infostealer

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 25, 2019

The Formbook information-stealing trojan may not be APT-grade malware, but its continuing spread means it can still be effective. At VB2018 in Montreal, Gabriela Nicolao, a researcher from Deloitte in Argentina, presented a short paper in which she looked at Formbook's background and history and analysed a sample of the malware. Today, we publish Gabriela's paper.

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The VB2019 CFP - how the selection procedure works

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 24, 2019

With the VB2019 Call for Papers having opened last week, we explain how the selection procedure works, which may help you during your abstract submission.

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VB2018 paper: From Hacking Team to hacked team to…?

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 18, 2019

Today we publish the VB2018 paper and video by ESET researcher Filip Kafka, who looked at the new malware by Hacking Team, after the company had recovered from the 2015 breach.

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The spam that is hardest to block is often the most damaging

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 17, 2019

We see a lot of spam in the VBSpam test lab, and we also see how well such emails are being blocked by email security products. Worryingly, it is often the emails with a malicious attachment or a phishing link that are most likely to be missed.

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Throwback Thursday: We're all doomed

Posted by   Helen Martin on   Jan 17, 2019

Mydoom turns 15 this month, and is still being seen in email attachments. This Throwback Thursday we look back to March 2004, when Gabor Szappanos tracked the rise of W32/Mydoom.

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VB2019 call for papers - now open!

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 15, 2019

Have you analysed a new online threat? Do you know a new way to defend against such threats? Are you tasked with securing systems and fending off attacks? The call for papers for VB2019 is now open and we want to hear from you!

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VB2018 paper: Unpacking the packed unpacker: reversing an Android anti-analysis library

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 14, 2019

Today, we publish a VB2018 paper by Google researcher Maddie Stone in which she looks at one of the most interesting anti-analysis native libraries in the Android ecosystem. We also release the recording of Maddie's presentation.

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Search blog

Another Windows zero-day exploit seen in wild

Trojans sneaking in through animated cursor flaw.
Trojans sneaking in through animated cursor flaw. A vulnerability has been discovered in the handling of .ani files, used for animated cursors on web pages and in HTML emails, and… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/03/another-windows-zero-day-exploit-seen-wild/

Major companies hosting spam bots

Zombies in corporate networks spotted pumping out spam.
Zombies in corporate networks spotted pumping out spam. Network security company Support Intelligence has found evidence of bot-infected zombies sending spam from within many of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/03/major-companies-hosting-spam-bots/

Genuine sites hacked by spammers

PHP flaws used to lend legitimate air to spam content.
PHP flaws used to lend legitimate air to spam content. Webmasters are being warned to ensure their sites are properly protected, after a wave of spams have been spotted using links… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/03/genuine-sites-hacked-spammers/

Woolworths to join UK AV market

Retail chain set to issue own-label software range.
Retail chain set to issue own-label software range. Major UK high street retailer Woolworths is set to follow supermarket giant Tesco in releasing its own-brand range of software… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/03/woolworths-join-uk-av-market/

Huge haul of ID data stolen by trojan

Smart Russian spyware gathered info 'unnoticed' for 54 days.
Smart Russian spyware gathered info 'unnoticed' for 54 days. According to researchers at SecureWorks, a sophisticated trojan which spread through browser exploits, harvested… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/03/huge-haul-id-data-stolen-trojan/

Search, link and trackback spam flooding web

Blogs, social sites and search results rivaling email for junk ads.
Blogs, social sites and search results rivaling email for junk ads. Email, long the most popular and lucrative means of getting advertising in front of computer users, is being… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/03/search-link-and-trackback-spam-flooding-web/

Malware danger and profitability rising

Symantec, FBI reports show general increases in money-driven threats.
Symantec, FBI reports show general increases in money-driven threats. Two major new reports on computer security issues have shown a steady rise in just about every aspect of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/03/malware-danger-and-profitability-rising/

MS admits serious problems with OneCare

Detection failures and other issues confirmed, improvements promised.
Detection failures and other issues confirmed, improvements promised.Microsoft's Windows Live OneCare, hit by a series of public relations difficulties recently with failures in… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/03/ms-admits-serious-problems-onecare/

RSA to provide trojan removal services

Anti-fraud system provides avenue for reporting and stopping targeted attacks.
Anti-fraud system provides avenue for reporting and stopping targeted attacks. Security firm RSA has announced a new system to block spyware and phishing fraud, by taking down… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/03/rsa-provide-trojan-removal-services/

Yet more vulnerabilities in major security products

Serious McAfee buffer overflow flaws join yet another Trend UPX issue.
Serious McAfee buffer overflow flaws join yet another Trend UPX issue. Several vulnerabilities have been found in McAfee's ePolicy Orchestrator management tool, which could be… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/03/yet-more-vulnerabilities-major-security-products/

No fanfare for Windows Server 2003 SP2

Major update release emerges in mysterious silence.
Major update release emerges in mysterious silence.Microsoft has released a new service pack for its Windows Server 2003 platform, almost entirely without warning or promotion. The… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/03/no-fanfare-windows-server-2003-sp2/

Trend takes over HijackThis

Popular free spyware-spotting tool acquired by security giant.
Popular free spyware-spotting tool acquired by security giant.Trend Micro has announced the acquisition of HijackThis, the popular freely available tool designed to reveal hidden… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/03/trend-takes-over-hijackthis/

UK bankers show 44% rise in online theft

APACS study records major increase in phishing fraud earnings.
APACS study records major increase in phishing fraud earnings. UK banking payments body APACS has released its latest figures for credit card and other types of banking fraud,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/03/uk-bankers-show-44-rise-online-theft/

OneCare causing Outlook havoc

Old mailbox deletion bug resurfaces, upsets users
Old mailbox deletion bug resurfaces, upsets usersMicrosoft's Windows Live OneCare has been the cause of considerable frustration to its users recently, with an issue with the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/03/onecare-causing-outlook-havoc/

SEC halts trading in spammed stocks

Share trading in 35 pumped and dumped companies suspended.
Share trading in 35 pumped and dumped companies suspended. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced yesterday that it had suspended trading in the stocks of 35… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/03/sec-halts-trading-spammed-stocks/

New Zealand passes anti-spam law

As bulk emailing is regulated in NZ, Canada hears calls for similar laws.
As bulk emailing is regulated in NZ, Canada hears calls for similar laws. The New Zealand government announced last week the final passing of a law to control spam originating in… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/03/new-zealand-passes-anti-spam-law/

March Patch Tuesday cancelled

MS announces no security patches this month.
MS announces no security patches this month. With several known vulnerabilities still affecting Windows and other products, Microsoft has announced that there will be no security… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/03/march-patch-tuesday-cancelled/

Report on TLD DNS DDoS attack released

Fact sheet on web root server bombardment published by ICANN.
Fact sheet on web root server bombardment published by ICANN. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the body responsible for controlling the DNS system… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/03/report-tld-dns-ddos-attack-released/

Gromozon hijacks Italian MSN searches

Link bombing pushes blended spyware attack to top of popular search results.
Link bombing pushes blended spyware attack to top of popular search results. The gang behind the sophisticated Gromozon blended threat, also known as LinkOptimizer, is thought to… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/03/gromozon-hijacks-italian-msn-searches/

OneCare fails another detection test

Microsoft product found not up to scratch in AV-Comparatives review.
Microsoft product found not up to scratch in AV-Comparatives review. Respected testing organisation AV-Comparatives has released the results of its latest in-depth test of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/03/onecare-fails-another-detection-test/

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