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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News round-up

October's goings on in the AV industry.
October's goings on in the AV industry. Despite no major malware outbreaks having occurred during last month's VB conference (as has almost seemed a tradition in the past),… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/11/news-round/

November

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/11/

Spamhaus rests easy

US judge rules against suspending Spamhaus domain.
US judge rules against suspending Spamhaus domain. At the end of a month-long court battle, a US judge has ruled that UK anti-spam advisory organization Spamhaus will not have its… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/11/spamhaus-rests-easy/

Sender ID specification released

Microsoft reveals all as part of its Open Specification Promise.
Microsoft reveals all as part of its Open Specification Promise.Microsoft has made its Sender ID Framework specification available as part of its recent Open Specification Promise,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/11/sender-id-specification-released/

New anti-spam group formed

StopSpamAlliance unites international bodies.
StopSpamAlliance unites international bodies. A group of international agencies and organisations have teamed up to launch StopSpamAlliance.org, designed to be a centralised base… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/11/new-anti-spam-group-formed/

Phish check interface

Developer interface for checking phishy URLs.
Developer interface for checking phishy URLs. The people behind PhishTank, a collaborative clearing house for data and information about phishing, have revealed a simplified… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/11/phish-check-interface/

Sophos engine faults disclosed

iDefense reports file-handling vulnerabilities.
iDefense reports file-handling vulnerabilities. Security researchers at iDefense have released information on four separate bugs in the Sophos anti-virus engine, affecting most… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/10/sophos-engine-faults-disclosed/

Two more IE7 bugs downplayed by Microsoft

More phishing issues found, not a big problem says MS.
More phishing issues found, not a big problem says MS. A second bug was spotted late last week in Microsoft's recently-released Internet Explorer 7, which could allow malicious… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/10/two-more-ie7-bugs-downplayed-microsoft/

McAfee up, Symantec down in profits

Financial reports differ widely between top security rivals.
Financial reports differ widely between top security rivals. Profits reports for the third quarter of the year show Symantec struggling with disappointing sales in the European… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/10/mcafee-symantec-down-profits/

Australian spam firm fined $4.1 million

First case under spam laws brings hefty punishment.
First case under spam laws brings hefty punishment. A company based in Western Australia has been charged A$4.5 million, with another A$1 million levied from its director, after a… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/10/australian-spam-firm-fined-4-1-million/

Windows Defender fully released

Microsoft anti-spyware product handed out free.
Microsoft anti-spyware product handed out free. After a lengthy beta period, Microsoft's free anti-spyware product, renamed Windows Defender halfway through its beta cycle, has… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/10/windows-defender-fully-released/

Sender ID licence opened up

Microsoft frees up access to anti-spam framework.
Microsoft frees up access to anti-spam framework.Microsoft has put the specifications for the Sender ID and Sender Policy Framework (SPF) email verification system under its 'Open… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/10/sender-id-licence-opened/

UK banks failing online users

Report names and shames insecure banking sites - again.
Report names and shames insecure banking sites - again. A report from heise Security, following up on a previous study released a month ago, claims several UK banks are still using… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/10/uk-banks-failing-online-users/

Trojan installs Kaspersky AV

Scanner software used to keep out rival malware.
Scanner software used to keep out rival malware. A trojan has been reported in the wild using a genuine AV engine to keep its victims' machines free from other threats. This… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/10/trojan-installs-kaspersky-av/

Latest VB100% test announced

Call for products issued for Windows XP x64 test.
Call for products issued for Windows XP x64 test. The latest round of VB 100% certification testing has been announced. The test will be run on the Windows XP Professional x64… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/10/latest-test-announced/

Microsoft in multiple security rows

AV firms, Apple and Secunia embroiled in MS spats.
AV firms, Apple and Secunia embroiled in MS spats. Operating system giant Microsoft is engaged on multiple fronts in a series of security-related PR battles. The longest running… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/10/microsoft-multiple-security-rows/

IE7 used as phishing lure

Spam campaign tries to hook users with new browser version.
Spam campaign tries to hook users with new browser version. A spam campaign has been spotted using the latest version of Microsoft's web browser, Internet Explorer 7, as bait. The… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/10/ie7-used-phishing-lure/

MySpace users targeted by spam campaign

Phishers pose as online contacts to push bogus shopping sites.
Phishers pose as online contacts to push bogus shopping sites. A major spam campaign is bombarding inboxes with mails masquerading as messages from conacts on web social and… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/10/myspace-users-targeted-spam-campaign/

MacDonald's serves up spyware

Diners 'rewarded' with infected music players
Diners 'rewarded' with infected music players Japanese customers of global burger giant MacDonald's have been warned that 10,000 MP3 players handed out by the firm as part of a… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/10/macdonald-s-serves-spyware/

Another hole found in PowerPoint

Proof-of-concept exploit shows further bug in slideshow software
Proof-of-concept exploit shows further bug in slideshow softwareMicrosoft has issued an alert over a new potential zero-day exploit in its PowerPoint presentation software. The… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/10/another-hole-found-powerpoint/

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