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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Search blog

More phishers and spammers face prison time

US, Dutch and Japanese police crack down on online bad guys.
US, Dutch and Japanese police crack down on online bad guys. Of a series of arrests and convictions this week, the most spectacular headlines centre on the potential 101-year… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/01/more-phishers-and-spammers-face-prison-time/

Wide support for spyware teacher

Malware infestation alleged at root of porn conviction.
Malware infestation alleged at root of porn conviction. A Connecticut teacher, recently convicted of morals offences after her laptop displayed a range of pornographic sites to a… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/01/wide-support-spyware-teacher/

UK anti-spam victory for Microsoft

Lawsuit won against UK spammer.
Lawsuit won against UK spammer. Microsoft has won a lawsuit against a spammer based in the UK. Microsoft launched legal proceedings against 37-year-old Paul Martin McDonald after… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/01/uk-anti-spam-victory-microsoft/

January

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/01/

Sony rootkit settlement costs escalate

Use of hidden DRM software costs company $5.75m.
Use of hidden DRM software costs company $5.75m. Sony BMG Music Entertainment's ill-advised use of hidden digital rights management (DRM) software on its CDs in late 2005 has cost… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/01/sony-rootkit-settlement-costs-escalate/

Government agencies take anti-phishing action

Spear-phishing awareness training and testing for staff.
Spear-phishing awareness training and testing for staff. Personnel working for the US Coast Guard have been ordered to take phishing awareness training, while other US government… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/01/government-agencies-take-anti-phishing-action/

2007

Latest news from the anti-virus industry provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
NewsMagic lanterns shine at terroristsVirus Bulletin finds 40% of users think governments should write viruses to bug terrorists.19 December 2007$3.2 billion lost in phishing… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/

MMS mobile phone exploit released

Buffer overflow vulnerability in MMS SMIL exploited.
Buffer overflow vulnerability in MMS SMIL exploited. Last month saw the publication of proof-of-concept code exploiting a vulnerability in the popular mobile phone Multimedia… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/01/mms-mobile-phone-exploit-released/

Microsoft wins block on spam list seller

Court bars bulk email address sales site from further business.
Court bars bulk email address sales site from further business.Microsoft has won a judgement against a UK man accused of selling lists of email addresses for the purpose of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/microsoft-wins-block-spam-list-seller/

BitDefender vulnerability disclosed

Details released of overflow issue reported and patched.
Details released of overflow issue reported and patched.BitDefender and several security-watching sites have unveiled details of a serious overflow vulnerability in the parsing of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/bitdefender-vulnerability-disclosed/

'Big Yellow' worm exploits slow Symantec patchers

Worm spotted targeting 6-month-old vulnerability in AV products.
Worm spotted targeting 6-month-old vulnerability in AV products. An alert has been issued by eEye Digital Security researchers for a new worm, which they have called 'Big Yellow',… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/big-yellow-worm-exploits-slow-symantec-patchers/

UK taxman warns of rebate phish

Mails promising tax refund just another scam.
Mails promising tax refund just another scam.Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the UK taxation authority, has issued a warning regarding a phishing campaign using its name.… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/uk-taxman-warns-rebate-phish/

US Postal Service accused of spamming

Customer email campaign in breach of CAN-SPAM regulations.
Customer email campaign in breach of CAN-SPAM regulations. The US Postal Service (USPS) has come under fire from anti-spam activists after a mass email campaign promoting a new… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/us-postal-service-accused-spamming/

UK phishing up 8000% in two years, says FSA

Government report shows massive rise in scams.
Government report shows massive rise in scams. A report presented to the UK government by the Financial Services Authority (FSA), the UK's financial watchdog organisation,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/uk-phishing-8000-two-years-says-fsa/

Yet more Word zero-day woes

Possible third vulnerability in popular software exploited.
Possible third vulnerability in popular software exploited. Reports are coming in of a new exploit for Microsoft's Word word processing software, amid speculation that the attack… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/yet-more-word-zero-day-woes/

European mailer society signs spyware charter

Direct marketeers' association adopts code of good behaviour.
Direct marketeers' association adopts code of good behaviour. The Federation of European Direct and Interactive Marketing (FEDMA), a common-interest and self-regulatory body for… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/european-mailer-society-signs-spyware-charter/

Putting a price on spam

Email-forwarding system lets users set a fee to let spam through.
Email-forwarding system lets users set a fee to let spam through. Email-forwarding system Boxbe has come up with a new way around the spam problem - by letting its users set a fee… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/putting-price-spam/

Ransom attacks hit webmail

Accounts held hostage by data-stealing extortionists.
Accounts held hostage by data-stealing extortionists. Following the wave of 'ransomware' attacks first spotted in the summer of 2005, online extortionists have picked another… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/ransom-attacks-hit-webmail/

Patch Tuesday leaves Word open to attack

Old and new zero-day vulnerabilities to remain unpatched.
Old and new zero-day vulnerabilities to remain unpatched.Microsoft's monthly Patch Tuesday update release sees seven security patches for Windows operating systems and products,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/patch-tuesday-leaves-word-open-attack/

Sophos vulnerabilities found, patched

Fixes issued for archive handling problems.
Fixes issued for archive handling problems. Researchers working with Tipping Point's Zero Day Initiative (ZDI) program have released details of two vulnerabilities in the Sophos… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/sophos-vulnerabilities-found-patched/

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