VB Blog

Benefit now from early bird discount tickets for VB2018

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jun 25, 2018

If you want to come to VB2018 in Montreal this year (and why wouldn't you?) and want to save a bit on the ticket price (and why wouldn't you?), remember that early bird discounts will be available until 30 June.

Read more  

We are more ready for IPv6 email than we may think

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jun 21, 2018

Though IPv6 is gradually replacing IPv4 on the Internet's network layer, email is lagging behind, the difficulty in blocking spam sent over IPv6 cited as a reason not to move. But would we really have such a hard time blocking spam sent over IPv6?

Read more  

Subtle change could see a reduction in installation of malicious Chrome extensions

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jun 13, 2018

Google has made a subtle change to its Chrome browser, banning the inline installation of new extensions, thus making it harder for malware authors to trick users into unwittingly installing malicious extensions.

Read more  

Paper: EternalBlue: a prominent threat actor of 2017–2018

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jun 11, 2018

We publish a paper by researchers from Quick Heal Security Labs in India, who study the EternalBlue and DoublePulsar exploits in full detail.

Read more  

'North Korea' a hot subject among VB2018 talks

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Jun 1, 2018

Several VB2018 papers deal explicitly or implicitly with threats that have been attributed to North Korean actors.

Read more  

Expired domain led to SpamCannibal's blacklist eating the whole world

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   May 31, 2018

The domain of the little-used SpamCannibal DNS blacklist had expired, resulting in it effectively listing every single IP address.

Read more  

MnuBot banking trojan communicates via SQL server

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   May 30, 2018

Researchers at IBM X-Force have discovered MnuBot, a banking trojan targeting users in Brazil, which is noteworthy for using SQL Server for command and control communication.

Read more  

Throwback Thursday: Giving the EICAR test file some teeth

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   May 24, 2018

The 68-byte EICAR test file plays as important a role today as it did 19 years ago. In this week's Throwback Thursday we look back at a VB99 conference paper in which Randy Abrams described how this 'miracle tool' worked and how it could be used.

Read more  

XMRig used in new macOS cryptominer

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   May 23, 2018

A new piece of cryptocurrency-mining malware on macOS has been found to use the popular XMRig miner.

Read more  

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

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   May 22, 2018

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.

Read more  

Search blog

VB2018 preview: The botnet landscape - live threats and steps for mitigation (Small Talk)

In a Small Talk at VB2018, Spamhaus's Simon Forster will present the organization's research into the botnet landscape and will discuss with the audience topics such as how the rise of anonymzation techniques and the hosting of botnets on well-regarded cl…
Whether they're used to send spam, to perform DDoS attacks, or as a proxy network for other kinds of nefarious activities, botnets remain a prominent tool for cybercriminals, and… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2018/09/vb2018-preview-botnet-landscape-live-threats-and-steps-mitigation-small-talk/

Spamhaus report shows many botnet controllers look a lot like legitimate servers

Spamhaus's annual report on botnet activity shows that botherders tend to use popular, legitimate hosting providers, domain registrars and top-level domains when setting up command-and-control servers.
Of all the annual security reports and blog posts that look back at the previous year, that of Spamhaus is one I particularly look forward to, as it always comes with good and… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2018/01/spamhaus-reports-shows-many-botnet-controllers-look-lot-legitimate-servers/

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/

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/

Correction to VBSpam results

Spamhaus and SURBL results re-evaluated.
Spamhaus and SURBL results re-evaluated. The most recent VBSpam results incorrectly stated that SURBL failed to detect a blacklisted URL in any of the emails in the Wombat feed of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2012/11/correction-vbspam-results/

Dutch ISP sues Spamhaus for 'extortion'

Blacklist entries 'unfair and illegal'.
Blacklist entries 'unfair and illegal'. Dutch ISP A2B Internet has sued The Spamhaus Project, claiming the project unfairly blacklisted its IP range. A2B provides the upstream… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/10/dutch-isp-sues-spamhaus-extortion/

Bulletproof hosting firm claims legitimacy

Crime-laden Russian service threatens to sue detractors.
Crime-laden Russian service threatens to sue detractors. A notorious Russian firm offering 'bulletproof hosting' - website hosting services with a guarantee that sites will not be… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/10/bulletproof-hosting-firm-claims-legitimacy/

Spamhaus $11 million fine thrown out

Appeal court quashes earlier e360 compensation ruling.
Appeal court quashes earlier e360 compensation ruling. Anti-spam operation Spamhaus, previously ordered to pay $11 million to mass-mailing firm e360 Insight after refusing to… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/09/spamhaus-11-million-fine-thrown-out/

Spoof Spamhaus ads spammed out

Mail campaign claims to promote spam fighters.
Mail campaign claims to promote spam fighters. Spam-fighting organisation Spamhaus has been subjected to an attack on its reputation this week, with a sizeable campaign of spams… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/07/spoof-spamhaus-ads-spammed-out/

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.