Blog keyword search

VB2019 video: Discretion in APT: recent APT attack on crypto exchange employees

At VB2019 in London, LINE's HeungSoo Kang explained how cryptocurrency exchanges had been attacked using Firefox zero-days. Today, we publish the video of his presentation.
In June, employees at cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase were targeted by emails linking to a website that used two zero-day vulnerabilities in the Firefox browser to deliver macOS… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2019/11/vb2019-video-discretion-apt-recent-apt-attack-crypto-exchange-employees/

VB2018 preview: Cyber Threat Alliance

In today's blog post we look at a report on illicit cryptocurrency mining by the Cyber Threat Alliance and also look forward to the VB2018 talk by the CTA's CEO Michael Daniel.
Last week, the Cyber Threat Alliance (CTA) published a report on the illicit mining of cryptocurrencies. The report is notable for two reasons: first because it is exceptionally… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2018/09/vb2018-preview-cyber-threat-alliance/

VB2018 preview: Explain Ethereum smart contract hacking like I am five

Designing smart contracts is hard: we preview a VB2018 paper on the blockchain-based platform Ethereum, that describes both how the technology works and how a number of security issues inherent to the platform have led to various high-profile and often ve…
Shout 'blockchain' in a group of security experts and everyone will start to laugh. It is fair to say that the security community tends to be rather sceptical about… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2018/08/vb2018-preview-explain-ethereum-smart-contract-hacking-i-am-five/

VB2018 preview: From drive-by download to drive-by mining

At VB2018, Malwarebytes researcher Jérôme Segura will discuss the rise of drive-by cryptocurrency mining, explaining how it works and putting it in the broader context of changes in the cybercrime landscape.
"Understanding the new paradigm", Malwarebytes researcher Jérôme Segura writes in the title of his upcoming VB2018 presentation on drive-by mining. He could hardly have put it… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2018/08/vb2018-preview-drive-download-drive-mining/

Necurs update reminds us that the botnet cannot be ignored

The operators of the Necurs botnet, best known for being one of the most prolific spam botnets of the past few years, have pushed out updates to its client, which provide some important lessons about why malware infections matter.
If, at some point in the past few years, you have looked at a spam campaign in which a lot of emails were being sent from Vietnam or India, there's a good chance the spam was sent… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2018/07/necurs-update-reminds-us-botnet-cannot-be-ignored/

XMRig used in new macOS cryptominer

A new piece of cryptocurrency-mining malware on macOS has been found to use the popular XMRig miner.
Users complaining on Apple's official discussion forum about processes that use a lot of CPU have led to the discovery of a new piece of cryptocurrency-mining malware on macOS… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2018/05/xmrig-used-new-macos-cryptominer/

$150k in cryptocurrency stolen through combined BGP-DNS hijack

A BGP hijack was used to take over some of Amazon's DNS infrastructure, which was then used to serve a phishing site to users of the MyEtherWallet service.
If the Internet is, as is often said, held together with elastic bands and pieces of Sellotape, BGP is essentially a bunch of post-it notes that serve as traffic signs. BGP… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2018/04/150-k-cryptocurrency-stolen-through-cominbed-bgp-dns-hijack/

There are lessons to be learned from government websites serving cryptocurrency miners

Thousands of websites, including many sites of government organisations in the UK, the US and Sweden, were recently found to have been serving a cryptocurrency miner. More interesting than the incident itself, though, are the lessons that can be learned f…
This was awkward. On Sunday, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK's data protection regulator and thus the public body that issues fines for data breaches, was… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2018/02/there-are-lessons-be-learned-government-websites-serving-cryptocurrency-miners/

Throwback Thursday: Malware taking a bit(coin) more than we bargained for

This Throwback Thursday, we republish the VB2012 paper by Microsoft researcher Amir Fouda, one of the earliest papers to look at malware targeting Bitcoin.
In late spring of 2011, a sudden rise in the price of Bitcoin – reaching almost US$30, up from less than $1 barely a month earlier – attracted the attention of malware authors.… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2018/02/throwback-thursday-malware-taking-bitcoin-more-we-bargained/

Necurs pump-and-dump spam campaign pushes obscure cryptocurrency

A Necurs pump-and-dump spam campaign pushing the lesser known Swisscoin botnet is mostly background noise for the Internet.
Cryptocurrencies have attracted the attention of cybercriminals for many years: as a relatively anonymous payment channel, as a target of their digital theft, and as a way to turn… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2018/01/necurs-pump-and-dump-spam-campaign-pushes-obscure-cryptocurrency/

Despite the profitability of ransomware there is a good reason why mining malware is thriving

Though ransomware is far more profitable than using a compromised PC to mine bitcoins, the global distribution of malware means that there are many botnets for which mining is the most efficient way to extract money out of a PC.
When, a few years ago, a friend and I were analysing a rather large botnet and we saw some network traffic indicating that it was engaged in Bitcoin mining, we felt rather… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/09/despite-profitability-ransomware-there-good-reason-why-mining-malware-thriving/

VB2014 Paper: Well, that escalated quickly. From penny-stealing malware to multi-million-dollar heists, a quick overview of the Bitcoin bonanza in the digital era

Santiago Pontiroli takes us on a rollercoaster ride through cryptocurrency land.
Santiago Pontiroli takes us on a rollercoaster ride through cryptocurrency land.Over the next few months, we will be sharing VB2014 conference papers as well as video recordings of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2014/11/paper-well-escalated-quickly-penny-stealing-malware-multi-million-dollar-heists-quick-overview-bitcoin-bonanza-digital-era/

We have placed cookies on your device in order to improve the functionality of this site, as outlined in our cookies policy. However, you may delete and block all cookies from this site and your use of the site will be unaffected. By continuing to browse this site, you are agreeing to Virus Bulletin's use of data as outlined in our privacy policy.