VB Blog

Facebook helps you determine whether emails really came from its servers

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Dec 21, 2017

On its website, Facebook now shows which emails it has sent you recently, thus helping you to determine which emails are real, and which should be discarded as phishing.

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Vulnerability disclosure and botnet takedown not to be hindered by Wassenaar Arrangement

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Dec 19, 2017

Clarification in the language of the Wassenaar Arrangement, a multilateral export control regime for conventional arms and dual-use goods and technologies, means those involved in vulnerability disclosure or botnet takedown won't have to worry about acquiring an export licence.

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VB2017 paper: Nine circles of Cerber

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Dec 15, 2017

Cerber is one of the major names in the world of ransomware, and last year, Check Point released a decryption service for the malware. Today, we publish a VB2017 paper by Check Point's Stanislav Skuratovich describing how the Cerber decryption tool worked; we have also uploaded the video of the presentation of this paper, by Or Eshed and Yaniv Balmas.

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Attack on Fox-IT shows how a DNS hijack can break multiple layers of security

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Dec 14, 2017

Dutch security firm Fox-IT deserves praise for being open about an attack on its client network. There are some important lessons to be learned about DNS security from its post-mortem.

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Throwback Thursday: BGP - from route hijacking to RPKI: how vulnerable is the Internet?

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Dec 14, 2017

For this week's Throwback Thursday, we look back at the video of a talk Level 3's Mike Benjamin gave at VB2016 in Denver, on BGP and BGP hijacks.

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Security Planner gives security advice based on your threat model

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Dec 13, 2017

Citizen Lab's Security Planner helps you improve your online safety, based on the specific threats you are facing.

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VB2017 video: Spora: the saga continues a.k.a. how to ruin your research in a week

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Dec 11, 2017

Today, we publish the video of the VB2017 presentation by Avast researcher Jakub Kroustek and his former colleague Előd Kironský, now at ESET, who told the story of Spora, one of of the most prominent ransomware families of 2017.

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VB2017 paper: Modern reconnaissance phase on APT – protection layer

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Dec 7, 2017

During recent research, Cisco Talos researchers observed the ways in which APT actors are evolving and how a reconnaissance phase is included in the infection vector in order to protect valuable zero-day exploits or malware frameworks. At VB2017 in Madrid, two of those researchers, Paul Rascagneres and Warren Mercer, presented a paper detailing five case studies that demonstrate how the infection vector is evolving. Today we publish both Paul and Warren's paper and the recording of their presentation.

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VB2017 paper: Peering into spam botnets

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Dec 1, 2017

At VB2017 in Madrid, CERT Poland researchers Maciej Kotowicz and Jarosław Jedynak presented a paper detailing their low-level analysis of five spam botnets. Today we publish their full paper.

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Throwback Thursday: Anti-malware testing undercover

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Nov 30, 2017

We look back at the VB2016 presentation by Righard Zwienenberg (ESET) and Luis Corrons (Panda Security), in which they discussed various issues relating to anti-malware testing.

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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/

Tendency for DDoS attacks to become less volumetric fits in a wider trend

CDN provider Cloudflare reports an increase in DDoS attacks targeting layer 7 and focusing on exhausting server resources rather than sending large volumes of data. This fits in a wider trend.
A current trend sees DDoS attacks focusing less on large volume attacks and more on attacks that exhaust server resources, Cloudflare reports. The number of layer 7 attacks per… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2018/05/tendency-ddos-attacks-become-less-volumetric-fits-wider-trend/

WireX DDoS botnet takedown shows the best side of the security industry

Collaboration between a number of security companies has led to the takedown of the WireX Android DDoS botnet. Efforts like these, and the fact that the companies involved all decided to publish the very same blog post, show the best side of the security …
It is easy to be cynical about the security industry and its tendency to make ever bigger mountains out of molehills, but behind a thin layer of marketing, there are a great many… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/08/wirex-ddos-botnet-takedown-shows-best-side-security-industry/

Throwback Thursday: Tools of the DDoS Trade

As DDoS attacks become costlier to fix and continue to increase in both number and diversity, we turn back the clock to 2000, when Aleksander Czarnowski took a look at the DDoS tools of the day.
According to a recent report by analytics firm Neustar (summarized in a Threatpost blog post here), DDoS attacks are on the increase, are taking longer to detect, and are costing… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/may/throwback-thursday-tools-ddos-trade/

VB2015 paper: DDoS Trojan: A Malicious Concept that Conquered the ELF Format

In their VB2015 paper, Peter Kálnai and Jaromír Hořejší look at the current state of DDoS trojans forming covert botnets on unsuspecting systems. The paper provides a technical analysis of the most important malware families, focusing on infection methods…
Recently, a new trend has emerged in non-Windows DDoS attacks. Malware has evolved into complex and relatively sophisticated pieces of code, employing compression, advanced… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2016/06/vb2015-paper-ddos-trojan-malicious-concept-conquered-elf-format1/

Throwback Thursday: What DDoS it all Mean?

This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back to March 2000, when DDoS attacks were a newly emerging menace.
This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back to March 2000, when DDoS attacks were a newly emerging menace. Today, DDoS attacks are a well-known form of cyber abuse — indeed,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/11/throwback-thursday-what-ddos-it-all-mean/

Dutch citizens keep extra cash at hand following DDoS attacks

Month-long attacks had significant impact.
Month-long attacks had significant impact. 25% of Dutch citizens have followed advice to keep extra cash at home, following a recent spate of DDoS attacks on Dutch banks. At the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/05/dutch-citizens-keep-extra-cash-hand-following-ddos-attacks/

WordPress pingback used for DDoS attacks

Millions of sites could potentially be used in attack.
Millions of sites could potentially be used in attack. Security firm Incapsula reports that it has discovered a DDoS attack on a gaming website using thousands of legitimate… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/05/wordpress-pingback-used-ddos-attacks/

Dutchman arrested in Spain for DDoS attacks on Spamhaus

Suspect drove around in 'mobile bunker' to co-ordinate attacks.
Suspect drove around in 'mobile bunker' to co-ordinate attacks. Police in Spain have arrested a 35-year-old Dutchman, believed to be responsible for the DDoS attacks on Spamhaus… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/04/dutchman-arrested-spain-ddos-attacks-spamhaus/

Anonymous petitions Obama Administration

Anti-virus and security related articles provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
"Make DDoS a legal form of protest." Hacking/protest group Anonymous has petitioned the Obama Administration to recognize DDoS attacks as a legal form of protest. The petition… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/01/anonymous-petitions-obama-administration/

Cybercriminals offering service flooding email, phone and SMS

DDoS-type attack could seriously disrupt business.
DDoS-type attack could seriously disrupt business. A new service is being offered on underground forums where between 25,000 and 100,000 emails are being sent to an email account… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2012/07/cybercriminals-offering-service-flooding-email-phone-and-sms/

International co-operation leads to scareware arrests

ChronoPay co-founder arrested for DDoS attacks on rivals.
ChronoPay co-founder arrested for DDoS attacks on rivals. Last week, Russian authorities arrested Pavel Vrublevsky, co-founder of ChronoPay, Russia's largest processor of online… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/06/international-co-operation-leads-scareware-arrests/

Botnet rented for online extortion

Man who threatened World Cup bookmakers with DDoS attack convicted.
Man who threatened World Cup bookmakers with DDoS attack convicted. A German man who hired a botnet and used it to threaten bookmakers with DDoS attacks during the 2010 FIFA World… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/06/botnet-rented-online-extortion/

Anti-Obama sentiments used in spam campaign

'DDoS software' turns out to be malware.
'DDoS software' turns out to be malware. In a new spam campaign users are being urged to participate in a DDoS attack on the website of American president Barack Obama in protest… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/08/anti-obama-sentiments-used-spam-campaign/

Korea DDoS surge mired in hype and confusion

Rows rumble on over sources and targets of botnet attacks.
Rows rumble on over sources and targets of botnet attacks. Last week's gush of denial-of-service attacks has sparked considerable excitement and argument, with rumours of possible… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/07/korea-ddos-surge-mired-hype-and-confusion/

BBC botnet hijack proves controversial

Legal issues raised by broadcaster's demo of spamming, DDoS, cleanup attempt.
Legal issues raised by broadcaster's demo of spamming, DDoS, cleanup attempt. A BBC report into the dangers of botnets has got the corporation into hot water, after reporters took… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/03/bbc-botnet-hijack-proves-controversial/

Botnet-herding team arrested in Quebec

Gang held for managing million-machine zombie net.
Gang held for managing million-machine zombie net. Canadian police have announced the arrests of up to 17 people in Quebec, in connection with a major botnet operation thought to… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/02/botnet-herding-team-arrested-quebec/

Attempted virus fumbles attack on F-Secure

Flawed file-infector fails to frighten Finns.
Flawed file-infector fails to frighten Finns. A highly buggy intended virus has been found to include an attempt to launch a DDoS attack on the websites of Finnish security firm… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/11/attempted-virus-fumbles-attack-f-secure/

Storm botnet evolution hints at spam and DDoS renting

Latest change in tactics could mean zombie clusters for hire.
Latest change in tactics could mean zombie clusters for hire. The latest twist in the long-running 'Storm' saga, the use of encryption in communications between infected hosts and… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/10/storm-botnet-evolution-hints-spam-and-ddos-renting/

Storm DDoS hits anti-scam sites

419 fighters attacked - NFL and TOR latest spam hooks.
419 fighters attacked - NFL and TOR latest spam hooks. The massive botnet amassed by the 'Storm' (Zhelatin/Nuwar/Dorf/etc.) attack continues to target new victims, with the TOR… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/09/storm-ddos-hits-anti-scam-sites/

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