VB Blog

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.

Read more  

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.

Read more  

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.

Read more  

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.

Read more  

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.

Read more  

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.

Read more  

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.

Read more  

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.

Read more  

Virus Bulletin relaunches VB Security Jobs Market for both employers and job seekers

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Nov 30, 2017

As an independent body in the IT security industry, Virus Bulletin is in an ideal position to act as a global source of information both about jobs currently available in the field and about those candidates currently seeking to start or progress their career in the industry - which is why we have relaunched the VB Security Jobs Market.

Read more  

VB2017 paper: Offensive malware analysis: dissecting OSX/FruitFly.B via a custom C&C server

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Nov 29, 2017

At VB2017 in Madrid, macOS malware researcher Patrick Wardle presented the details of a specific piece of Mac malware, FruitFly, which he analysed through a custom C&C server - a technique that will also be of interest for researchers of malware on other platforms. Today we publish both Patrick's paper and the recording of his presentation.

Read more  

Search blog

VB2018 paper: The dark side of WebAssembly

Today, we publish the VB2018 paper by Symantec researchers Aishwarya Lonkar and Siddhesh Chandrayan on the security risks that come with WebAssembly.
With this year's very successful Virus Bulletin Conference (VB2018) now behind us, we plan to continue the tradition of publishing most of the papers and videos of the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2018/10/vb2018-paper-dark-side-webassembly/

VB2017 video: Turning Trickbot: decoding an encrypted command-and-control channel

Trickbot, a banking trojan which appeared this year, seems to be a new, more modular, and more extensible malware descendant of the notorious Dyre botnet trojan. At VB2017, Symantec researcher Andrew Brandt presented a walkthrough of a typical Trickbot in…
Trickbot, first reported a year ago by Malwarebytes researcher Jérôme Segura as the successor of Dyre/Dyreza, has become perhaps the most important banking trojan of 2017. It is… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/11/vb2017-video-turning-trickbot-decoding-encrypted-command-and-control-channel/

VB2016 paper: One-Click Fileless Infection

Symantec researchers Himanshu Anand and Chastine Menrige explain how a single click can lead to a compromised machine, without malware ever being stored on disk.
Over the last few years, we have seen a sharp increase in 'fileless' infections, where a machine is compromised without a malicious file ever being written to disk. Though not… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/03/vb2016-paper-one-click-fileless-infection/

Symantec quietly retires PC Tools security product lines

Sales of Spyware Doctor and other security products end, support to continue for existing users.
Sales of Spyware Doctor and other security products end, support to continue for existing users.Symantec has quietly announced the end of life the of PC Tools security product… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/05/symantec-quietly-retires-pc-tools-security-product-lines/

From spear phishing to watering holes

Symantec reports increase in 'watering hole attacks'.
Symantec reports increase in 'watering hole attacks'. Imagine that for some reason you wanted to gain access to my computer. One thing you could do is send me an email with some… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2012/09/spear-phishing-watering-holes/

'Nitro attacks' continue

PoisonIvy trojan sent attached to email warning about the same trojan.
PoisonIvy trojan sent attached to email warning about the same trojan. Researchers at Symantec report that the 'Nitro attacks', which target a number of large companies, many of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/12/nitro-attacks-continue/

Spammers exploit internationalized domain names

Non-Latin characters in URLs used to trick filters.
Non-Latin characters in URLs used to trick filters. By using internationalized domain names (IDN), spammers manage to avoid detection of URLs in their messages. IDNs were… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/03/spammers-exploit-internationalized-domain-names/

Welsh 419 scam

Email from Welsh-speaking Kuwaiti widow indicative of more targeted spam.
Email from Welsh-speaking Kuwaiti widow indicative of more targeted spam. Email users in Wales who received a recent 419 scam will have been surprised to find the message -… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/02/welsh-419-scam/

AV-Test.org issues latest round of testing results

Symantec and Microsoft outdo Trend and McAfee in live tests.
Symantec and Microsoft outdo Trend and McAfee in live tests. Independent testing organisation AV-Test.org has released its latest round of test results in a simplified format,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/08/av-test-org-issues-latest-round-testing-results/

Symantec to acquire VeriSign business

Vendor splashes out more cash on authentication.
Vendor splashes out more cash on authentication.Symantec, the AV vendor with a reputation for snapping up other companies, has announced its purchase of VeriSign's authentication… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/05/symantec-acquire-verisign-business/

Symantec buys key pair of encryption firms

PGP and GuardianEdge snapped up in surprise dual acquisition.
PGP and GuardianEdge snapped up in surprise dual acquisition.Symantec has announced the acquisition of two separate firms specialising in encryption and email security. The deals… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/05/symantec-buys-key-pair-encryption-firms/

Microsoft steps into free AV market

Security Essentials release creates expected storm of words.
Security Essentials release creates expected storm of words.Microsoft's release of its free Security Essentials product this week sparked the expected barrage of views and opinions… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/10/microsoft-steps-free-av-market/

Banking sector confuses users over online safety

Leftfield AV detection scores used to promote ID theft tool.
Leftfield AV detection scores used to promote ID theft tool. With online banking an increasingly important way of interacting with our banks, the security of online transactions is… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/04/banking-sector-confuses-users-over-online-safety/

AV-Comparatives releases latest detection figures

Large collection test shows major improvement from AV giants.
Large collection test shows major improvement from AV giants. Independent testing organisation AV-Comparatives has released its latest bi-annual detection test figures, with 17… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/03/av-comparatives-releases-latest-detection-figures/

Symantec slip sparks suspicion, spam

Update error leads to conspiracy theories and exploitation of fears.
Update error leads to conspiracy theories and exploitation of fears. A faulty update issued to some users of Symantec's Norton product line yesterday has led to an explosion of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/03/symantec-slip-sparks-suspicion-spam/

MessageLabs acquired by Symantec

Acquisition deal valued at $695m.
Acquisition deal valued at $695m. Security industry heavyweight Symantec has announced a definitive agreement to acquire software-as-a-service security specialist MessageLabs.… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/10/messagelabs-acquired-symantec/

Symantec to acquire PC Tools

Industry giant adds spyware specialist to growing portfolio.
Industry giant adds spyware specialist to growing portfolio. Security industry behemoth Symantec has announced the planned acquisition of PC Tools, the Australia-based company… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/08/symantec-acquire-pc-tools/

QuickTime flaw could open Windows PCs to hackers

Firefox users most vulnerable; Internet Explorer users should be wary too.
Firefox users most vulnerable; Internet Explorer users should be wary too. Polish security researcher Krystian Kloskowski has published a proof-of-concept exploit for a… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/11/quicktime-flaw-could-open-windows-pcs-hackers/

Symantec joins data leak frenzy

Vontu purchase latest move in data protection trend.
Vontu purchase latest move in data protection trend.Symantec has announced the $350 million purchase of data leak prevention firm Vontu, following several similar moves by major… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/11/symantec-joins-data-leak-frenzy/

Word for Mac exploit spotted

Patch Tuesday flaw targeted by vulnerability.
Patch Tuesday flaw targeted by vulnerability. A vulnerability in the Apple Mac version of Microsoft Word, covered by a patch in this month's Patch Tuesday security update, has been… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/10/word-mac-exploit-spotted/

« Previous 12 Next »

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.