VB Blog

Alleged author of creepy FruitFly macOS malware arrested

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 11, 2018

A 28-year old man from Ohio has been arrested on suspicion of having created the mysterious FruitFly malware that targeted macOS and used it to spy on its victims.

Read more  

The threat and security product landscape in 2017

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 10, 2018

At the start of the new year, Virus Bulletin looks back at the threats seen in the 2017 and at the security products that are available to help mitigate them.

Read more  

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

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 9, 2018

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.

Read more  

Tips on researching tech support scams

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 5, 2018

As tech support scammers continue to target the computer illiterate through cold calling, VB's Martijn Grooten uses his own experience to share some advice on how to investigate such scams.

Read more  

Meltdown and Spectre attacks mitigated by operating system updates

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 4, 2018

Just four days into the new year, two serious attacks in modern processors, dubbed Meltdown and Spectre, have been discovered. The attacks can be mitigated by patches to the operating system, but anti-virus software vendors need to make sure their products are compatible with the patches.

Read more  

Conference review: AVAR 2017

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Dec 22, 2017

Martijn Grooten reports on the 20th AVAR conference, which took place earlier in December in Beijing, China.

Read more  

Conference review: Botconf 2017

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Dec 22, 2017

Virus Bulletin researchers report back from a very interesting fifth edition of Botconf, the botnet fighting conference.

Read more  

VB2017 videos on attacks against Ukraine

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Dec 21, 2017

(In)security is a global issue that affects countries around the world, but in recent years none has been so badly hit as Ukraine. Today, we publish the videos of two VB2017 talks about attacks that hit Ukraine particularly badly: a talk by Alexander Adamov (NioGuard) on (Not)Petya and related attacks, and another by Robert Lipovsky and Anton Cherepanov (ESET) on Industroyer.

Read more  

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.

Read more  

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.

Read more  

Search blog

Turkish Twitter users targeted with mobile FinFisher spyware

Through fake social media accounts, users were tricked into installing an Android application that was actually a mobile version of the FinFisher spyware.
A new research paper by digital rights organization Access Now looks at how FinFisher has been used against people interested in anti-government protests in Turkey. Through… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2018/05/turkish-twitter-users-targeted-mobile-finfisher-spyware/

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/

Twitter, Facebook accounts used in watering hole campaign

USAID sympathizers targeted with links from 'like-minded people'.
USAID sympathizers targeted with links from 'like-minded people'. Two social networking accounts have been discovered that were used in a recent targeted attack. Opinions on… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/05/twitter-facebook-accounts-used-watering-hole-campaign/

VB conference hashtag used to spread malware

Tweet promising conference news links to trojan.
Tweet promising conference news links to trojan. A tweet using the #vb2011 hashtag, which was used in numerous tweets referring to last week's VB2011 conference, contained a link… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/10/vb-conference-hashtag-used-spread-malware/

Bank's Twitter account hacked to send phishing messages

Important lessons for companies engaging in social media.
Important lessons for companies engaging in social media. Last week, the Twitter account of the Bank of Melbourne was hacked and used to send direct messages containing phishing… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/09/bank-s-twitter-account-hacked-send-phishing-messages/

Rogue Twitter application steals passwords

'See who stalks my Twitter' used to lure users.
'See who stalks my Twitter' used to lure users. A malicious Twitter application is currently spreading on the microblogging network, luring users to hand over their passwords,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/07/rogue-twitter-application-steals-passwords/

Malicious tweets link to fake TweetDeck update

Twitter resets passwords for accounts that appear to have been hacked.
Twitter resets passwords for accounts that appear to have been hacked.Twitter users who recently clicked on links in tweets urging them to upgrade their version of TweetDeck - the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/09/malicious-tweets-link-fake-tweetdeck-update/

Twitter hit by phishing and hacks

Popular micro-blog site latest target of link spammers.
Popular micro-blog site latest target of link spammers. The latest social networking craze, micro-blogging service Twitter, has joined the likes of MySpace and Facebook in being… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/01/twitter-hit-phishing-and-hacks/

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.