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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December

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/12/

December issue of VB published

The December issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download.
The December issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download. The December 2013 issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to browse online or… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/12/december-issue-vb-published/

Spamhaus CIO calls for those running open DNS resolvers to be fined

Open DNS resolvers instrumental in many DDoS attacks.
Open DNS resolvers instrumental in many DDoS attacks. At the Cyber Security Summit in London, Richard Cox, CIO of DNS blacklist provider Spamhaus, called on the UK government to… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/11/spamhaus-cio-calls-those-running-open-dns-resolvers-be-fined/

Privilege escalation vulnerability targets Windows XP and Server 2003

Vulnerability being used in the wild in combination with exploit of patched Adobe Reader vulnerability.
Vulnerability being used in the wild in combination with exploit of patched Adobe Reader vulnerability. Researchers at FireEye have discovered a new privilege escalation… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/11/privilege-escalation-vulnerability-targets-windows-xp-and-server-2003/

There is a place for unauthenticated key exchange, but don't tell anyone

Making dragnet surveillance harder justifies using weak form of encryption.
Making dragnet surveillance harder justifies using weak form of encryption. Discussions on how to make the Internet more secure have been going on ever since the first two… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/11/there-place-unauthenticated-key-exchange-don-t-tell-anyone/

NCA issues alert on CryptoLocker ransomware

Malware demands $1,000 ransom to decrypt files.
Malware demands $1,000 ransom to decrypt files. This weekend, the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) issued an alert about the 'CryptoLocker' ransomware - following a similar alert… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/11/nca-issues-alert-cryptolocker-ransomware/

Industry suffers loss of great researcher

Untimely death of Peter Ször sends shockwaves across anti-malware community.
Untimely death of Peter Ször sends shockwaves across anti-malware community. We were shocked and saddened to learn, yesterday, of the sudden and unexpected death of security… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/11/industry-suffers-loss-great-researcher/

'123456' may be an adequate password to protect nothing

Are we giving users the right kind of advice when it comes to password security?
Are we giving users the right kind of advice when it comes to password security? A recent data-breach at Adobe has shown once again that a lot of users choose the most trivial of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/11/123456-may-be-adequate-password-protect-nothing/

Good and bad news for victims of targeted attacks against Microsoft products

Bug bounty program extended; TIFF zero-day used in the wild.
Bug bounty program extended; TIFF zero-day used in the wild. This week, Microsoft has good news and bad news for those targeted by zero-day exploits in its products. The bad… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/11/good-and-bad-news-victims-targeted-attacks-against-microsoft-products/

November

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/11/

November issue of VB published

The November issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download.
The November issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download. The November 2013 issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to browse online or… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/11/november-issue-vb-published/

Open letter asks AV companies for openness on surveillance malware

Old issue has become hot topic again following Snowden revelations.
Old issue has become hot topic again following Snowden revelations. A group of experts in privacy and digital rights has sent an open letter (pdf) to a number of anti-virus… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/10/open-letter-asks-av-companies-openness-surveillance-malware/

Php.net compromised to serve malware

Researchers initially believed Google warning was a false positive.
Researchers initially believed Google warning was a false positive. For a few days this week, the popular php.net website was serving malware to some of its visitors and was doing… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/10/php-net-compromised-serve-malware/

Should software vendors extend support for their products on Windows XP?

Is Google making the Internet more or less secure by extending support for Chrome on XP?
Is Google making the Internet more or less secure by extending support for Chrome on XP? A software vendor's decision to release updates to its product is generally seen as a good… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/10/should-software-vendors-extend-support-their-products-windows-xp/

October

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/10/

October issue of VB published

The October issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download.
The October issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download. The October 2013 issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to browse online or… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/10/october-issue-vb-published/

VB2013 speaker spotlight

We speak to VB2013 presenter Methusela Ferrer about her research interests and what she aims to bring to VB2013.
We speak to VB2013 presenter Methusela Ferrer about her research interests and what she aims to bring to VB2013. The VB2013 conference takes place next week (2-4 October) in… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/09/speaker-spotlight-ferrer/

VB2013 speaker spotlight

We speak to VB2013 presenter Jarno Niemela about APTs and about what he aims to bring to VB2013.
We speak to VB2013 presenter Jarno Niemela about APTs and about what he aims to bring to VB2013. The VB2013 conference takes place next week (2-4 October) in Berlin, with an… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/09/speaker-spotlight-niemela/

Tens of thousands of fake Twitter accounts passed off and sold as 'followers'

After initial takedown, more efforts put into making new fake accounts look genuine.
After initial takedown, more efforts put into making new fake accounts look genuine.Virus Bulletin's research into a scam selling fake Twitter accounts being passed off as… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/09/tens-thousands-fake-twitter-accounts-passed-and-sold-followers/

VB2013 speaker spotlight

We speak to VB2013 presenter Rowland Yu about Android malware, his research interests, and what he aims to bring to VB2013.
We speak to VB2013 presenter Rowland Yu about Android malware, his research interests, and what he aims to bring to VB2013. The VB2013 conference takes place next month (2-4… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/09/speaker-spotlight-yu/

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