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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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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