VB Blog

DMARC: an imperfect solution that can make a big difference

Posted by Martijn Grooten on Jul 24, 2017

US Senator Ron Wyden has asked the Department of Homeland Security to implement DMARC. Martijn Grooten looks at what difference this could make for phishing attacks impersonating the US federal governent.

Posted by Martijn Grooten on Jul 20, 2017

Unsurprisingly given today's threat landscape, the VB2017 programme contains several talks on various advanced persistent threats - but also a talk on what may be the polar opposite of such threats: an inept persistent threat.

Posted by Martijn Grooten on Jul 18, 2017

Password security advice focuses too much on password strength and too little on avoiding password reuse, Martijn Grooten argues.

Posted by Martijn Grooten on Jul 17, 2017

Though the location will remain a secret for a few more months, we are pleased to announce the dates for VB2018, the 28th Virus Bulletin International Conference.

Posted by Martijn Grooten on Jul 10, 2017

The second edition of BSides Athens saw a great and varied programme presented in the Greek capital. VB's Martijn Grooten was pleased to attend.

Posted by Martijn Grooten on Jul 7, 2017

Spreading 'FUD' in the wake of cyber-attacks is never a good idea. But it's even worse when this might be one of the attackers' implicit goals.

Posted by Martijn Grooten on Jul 7, 2017

For the third year in a row, we have set aside a limited number of student tickets for the Virus Bulletin conference, to allow 'next-generation' security researchers to experience one of the most important gatherings of security researchers around the world.

Posted by Martijn Grooten on Jul 4, 2017

Virus Bulletin has opened nominations for the fourth annual Péter Szőr Award, for the best piece of technical security research published between 1 July 2016 and 30 June 2017.

Posted by Martijn Grooten on Jul 3, 2017

According to some researchers, there is some evidence linking the recent (Not)Petya attacks with the BlackEnergy group - which became infamous for its targeted attacks against the Ukraine. At VB2016, ESET researchers Anton Cherepanov and Robert Lipovsky spoke about BlackEnergy, providing an overview of the group's attacks. Today, we publish their paper.

Posted by Martijn Grooten on Jun 30, 2017

As WannaCry and (Not)Petya have shown, malware attacks can do a lot of damage. So is staying safe just a case of following good security advice?

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VB2019 paper: Pulling the PKPLUG: the adversary playbook for the long-standing espionage activity of a Chinese nation state adversary

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 pre…
Pulling the PKPLUG: the adversary playbook for the long-standing espionage activity of a Chinese nation-state adversary Read the paper (HTML) Download the paper (PDF) … https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2020/03/vb2019-paper-pulling-pkplug-adversary-playbook-long-standing-espionage-activity-chinese-nation-state-adversary/

VB2019 paper: Exploring the Chinese DDoS landscape

China has long been a hotbed of DDoS activities, and today we publish a VB2019 paper by Intezer researcher Nacho Sanmillan who looked at Chinese threat groups engaged in performing DDoS attacks. We have also uploaded the recording of his presentation.
Exploring the Chinese DDoS landscape Read the paper (HTML) Download the paper (PDF) China has long been a hotbed of DDoS activities, with several groups… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2019/12/vb2019-paper-exploring-chinese-ddos-landscape/

Conference review: AVAR 2017

Martijn Grooten reports on the 20th AVAR conference, which took place earlier in December in Beijing, China.
The first week of December was packed with security conferences, and VB2017 speakers were busy presenting their research at no fewer than four different events: FIRST in Prague,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/12/conference-review-avar-2017/

By removing VPNs from its Chinese App Store, Apple turns its biggest security asset against its users

To comply with Chinese laws, Apple has removed all iOS VPN apps from its Chinese app store. This means that the company uses iOS's strongest security asset, its tightly controlled App Store, against its own users.
A little over a month ago, Apple's iPhone celebrated its tenth birthday. The iPhone has been one of the biggest commercial success stories ever, but it has also been a great… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/08/removing-vpns-its-chinese-app-store-apple-turns-its-biggest-security-asset-aggasnt-its-users/

Small Talks return to the Virus Bulletin Conference

Following their success last year, this year a series of "Small Talks" return to the VB2016 conference programme. We are pleased to announce the details of six of these talks, covering subjects that range from the Chinese cybercriminal underground to Andr…
VB2015 was the 25th Virus Bulletin conference and, to celebrate the occasion, we added a third stream to the programme. Dubbed "Small Talks", these talks were longer than those on… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2016/08/small-talks-return-virus-bulletin-conference/

WireLurker malware infects iOS devices through OS X

Non-jailbroken devices infected via enterprise provisioning program.
Non-jailbroken devices infected via enterprise provisioning program. Researchers at Palo Alto Networks have published a research paper (PDF) analysing the 'WireLurker' malware that… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2014/11/wirelurker-malware-infects-ios-devices-through-os-x/

Hundreds of APTs linked to Chinese Army department

'Unit 61398' employs hundreds of people.
'Unit 61398' employs hundreds of people. A new report by security firm Mandiant links a large number of cyber-espionage cases to a department of the Chinese army. The report is… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/02/hundreds-apts-linked-chinese-army-department/

Significant rise in Chinese phishing sites

Phishers shown to care little about domain names.
Phishers shown to care little about domain names. In its latest 'Global Phishing Survey', the Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG) reports a significant increase in phishing sites… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/11/significant-rise-chinese-phishing-sites/

Chinese whispers of malware writing and bribery in the industry

As China corruption scandals rumble on, more rumours of malware writers in AV firms surface.
As China corruption scandals rumble on, more rumours of malware writers in AV firms surface. Several recent stories in the media have revolved around China and malware writers,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/12/chinese-whispers-malware-writing-and-bribery-industry/

More than 1 million Chinese phones infected with malware

Mobile botnet sending out SMS spam.
Mobile botnet sending out SMS spam. Over one million mobile phones in China have been infected with malware and are sending out SMS spam, the Shanghai Daily reports. Masquerading… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/11/more-1-million-chinese-phones-infected-malware/

Spammers move from China to Russia

Stricter rules on registering .cn domains leads to increase in malicious .ru domains.
Stricter rules on registering .cn domains leads to increase in malicious .ru domains. A change in the rules of the organization responsible for registering .cn domains has resulted… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/02/spammers-move-china-russia/

China hosting over half of malicious sites

StopBadware.org report highlights Chinese dominance in web malware.
StopBadware.org report highlights Chinese dominance in web malware. A report from StopBadware.org released last week found that 52% of malicious websites were hosted in China, with… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/06/china-hosting-over-half-malicious-sites/

China-Tibet row spills over into malware attacks

Both sides of debate targeted to spread malicious code.
Both sides of debate targeted to spread malicious code. With the political row over China's involvement in Tibet continuing to make the headlines, cybercriminals have been as quick… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/04/china-tibet-row-spills-over-malware-attacks/

UK spooks spooked by possible Chinese hacking

MI5 warns of suspected corporate espionage onslaught.
MI5 warns of suspected corporate espionage onslaught. The UK security service MI5 has issued an alert to 300 leading firms, warning them to ensure best possible security measures… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/12/uk-spooks-spooked-possible-chinese-hacking/

Infected Seagate hard drives sold in Taiwan

External Maxtor disks shipped carrying autorun datastealer.
External Maxtor disks shipped carrying autorun datastealer. A shipment of Maxtor external hard drives, produced in Thailand by US-based Seagate and sold in Taiwan, has been found… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/11/infected-seagate-hard-drives-sold-taiwan/

Fujacks/Panda virus authors sentenced, offered job

Fujacks author put away for four years.
Fujacks author put away for four years. Four men who were charged last month with writing, selling and spreading the W32/Fujacks virus and worm (a.k.a. the 'Panda burning… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/09/fujacks-panda-virus-authors-sentenced-offered-job/

China denies Pentagon hacking claims

'Hacked by Chinese' row rumbles on.
'Hacked by Chinese' row rumbles on. The Chinese government has vigorously denied accusations, made in a report in UK newspaper The Financial Times on Monday, that Chinese hackers… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/09/china-denies-pentagon-hacking-claims/

Four charged with writing Fujacks

Malware authors and sellers appear in Chinese court.
Malware authors and sellers appear in Chinese court. Four men have appeared in a public court in Hubei Province, China, charged with writing, selling and spreading the W32/Fujacks… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/08/four-charged-writing-fujacks/

China steps up fight against spammers

Blacklist aims to reduce massive spamming levels.
Blacklist aims to reduce massive spamming levels. Chinese web organisation the Internet Society of China (ISC) has announced the setting up of a central anti-spam blacklist, to… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/06/china-steps-fight-against-spammers/

Symantec sued for false positive

Chinese FP issue leads to court case.
Chinese FP issue leads to court case. A Chinese lawyer has begun court proceedings against security firm Symantec, claiming damages as a result of the widely-publicised false… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/06/symantec-sued-false-positive/

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