VB Blog

Malicious CCleaner update points to a major weakness in our infrastructure

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Sep 18, 2017

Researchers from Cisco Talos have found that a recent version of the widely used CCleaner tool installed malware on the machine.

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Despite the profitability of ransomware there is a good reason why mining malware is thriving

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Sep 15, 2017

Though ransomware is far more profitable than using a compromised PC to mine bitcoins, the global distribution of malware means that there are many botnets for which mining is the most efficient way to extract money out of a PC.

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VB2017 preview: Crypton - exposing malware's deepest secrets

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Sep 14, 2017

We preview the VB2017 paper by Julia Karpin and Anna Dorfman (F5 networks), in which they present a tool to decrypt encrypted parts of malware.

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VB2017 preview: Hacktivism and website defacement: motivations, capabilities and potential threats

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Sep 13, 2017

We preview the VB2017 paper by Marco Romagna and Niek Jan van den Hout (The Hague University of Applied Sciences), in which they thoroughly analyse the motivations and modus operandy of hacktivists.

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Three questions to ask about security product bypasses

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Sep 13, 2017

Proof-of-concepts for bypasses of security products always sound scary, but how seriously should we take them? VB Editor Martijn Grooten lists three questions one should ask about any such bypass to determine how serious a threat it represents.

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VB2017: WHOIS and EICAR Small Talks added

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Sep 12, 2017

Today, we announce two more 'Small Talks' for the VB2017 programme. In one of them, Neil Schwarzman will discuss the consequences of the GDPR for WHOIS and abuse research, while the other will be hosted by three members of EICAR, who will discuss its work on a trustworthiness strategy and minimum standard.

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VB2017: nine last-minute papers announced

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Sep 11, 2017

From attacks on Ukraine's power grid to web shells, and from car hacking to ransomware: we announce the first nine 'last-minute' papers on the VB2017 programme.

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Patching is important even when it only shows the maturity of your security process

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Sep 5, 2017

A lot of vulnerabilities that are discovered are never exploited in the wild. It is still important to patch them though.

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Massive data breach confirms what you already knew: you are getting spam

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Sep 4, 2017

A security researcher found more than 700 million email addresses stored on a server used by a spam botnet, which gives us some insight into what the email lists used by spammers look like.

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VB2017 preview: State of cybersecurity in Africa: Kenya

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Sep 4, 2017

We preview the VB2017 presentation by Tyrus Kamau (Euclid Security), who will talk about the state of cybersecurity in Africa, with a particular focus on his home country, Kenya.

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Search blog

SEC brings case against pump-and-dump spammers

Scam spotted after spammed mail sent to SEC lawyer.
Scam spotted after spammed mail sent to SEC lawyer. Two men from Texas have been charged with a range of spam and fraud offences after a 20-month campaign using botnets to spam… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/07/sec-brings-case-against-pump-and-dump-spammers/

Kaspersky sues Rising

Feuding AV firms to fight it out in court.
Feuding AV firms to fight it out in court.Kaspersky's Chinese subsidiary has brought a court case against local rival Rising, after an escalating war of words between the two… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/07/kaspersky-sues-rising/

US porn spammers convicted

Two found guilty of CAN-SPAM breaches.
Two found guilty of CAN-SPAM breaches. A federal jury in Phoenix, Arizona, has found two men guilty of two charges of violating the US CAN-SPAM regulations, as well as other… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/06/us-porn-spammers-convicted/

Spanish mobile malware suspect arrested

28-year-old charged with Cabir/Commwarrior crimes.
28-year-old charged with Cabir/Commwarrior crimes. An unnamed man has been arrested in Valencia, Spain, on suspicion of creating and spreading 20 variants of the Cabir and… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/06/spanish-mobile-malware-suspect-arrested/

Phisher gets six years

Californian receives 70-month prison sentence, avoids 101 years behind bars.
Californian receives 70-month prison sentence, avoids 101 years behind bars. A Californian man, found guilty in January this year of operating a phishing scheme aimed at scamming… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/06/phisher-gets-six-years/

FBI serves up Operation Bot Roast

Investigations identify more than 1 million victim IP addresses.
Investigations identify more than 1 million victim IP addresses. The FBI has announced the results of an ongoing initiative, dubbed 'Operation Bot Roast', which is aimed at… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/06/fbi-serves-operation-bot-roast/

Spammer enters guilty plea

Admits to having spammed 1.2 million AOL customers.
Admits to having spammed 1.2 million AOL customers. A Brooklyn man has pleaded guilty to having sent spam messages to over 1.2 million AOL customers in August 2005. According to… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/06/spammer-enters-guilty-plea/

Amero case sent for retrial

Spyware popup teacher told earlier trial was flawed.
Spyware popup teacher told earlier trial was flawed. Connecticut temporary teaching assistant Julie Amero, convicted of exposing minors to danger when a classroom computer she had… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/06/amero-case-sent-retrial/

Anti-spam laws take hold in Hong Kong

Tough new controls aim at stamping out spam.
Tough new controls aim at stamping out spam. Hong Kong has become the latest place to see the introduction of anti-spam laws, with the first phase of a two-stage process coming… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/06/anti-spam-laws-take-hold-hong-kong/

Another 'Spam King' arrested

Spammer brought to book after 4-year campaign.
Spammer brought to book after 4-year campaign. A Seattle man was indicted yesterday on numerous charges of fraud and deception in relation to a campaign of spamming dating back to… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/06/another-spam-king-arrested/

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/

Zango sues PC Tools for $35 million

'Reformed' adware shippers upset by detection and removal.
'Reformed' adware shippers upset by detection and removal. Adware and sometime spyware maker Zango has brought a suit against anti-spyware firm PC Tools complaining that the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/05/zango-sues-pc-tools-35-million/

Symantec files 8 piracy suits

Symantec pursues distributors of counterfeit software.
Symantec pursues distributors of counterfeit software.Symantec has revealed that it has filed civil lawsuits against eight US and Canadian companies accused of selling counterfeit… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/05/symantec-files-8-piracy-suits/

Law to stop spam reaching kids dubbed a failure

Utah registry to protect children's email leaks cash and addresses.
Utah registry to protect children's email leaks cash and addresses. A law enacted in the state of Utah, as well as some other states, with the aim of preventing spammers from… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/05/law-stop-spam-reaching-kids-dubbed-failure/

I-SPY chases SPY-ACT through approval process

Second piece of US anti-spyware legislation given go-ahead.
Second piece of US anti-spyware legislation given go-ahead. With the 'Securely Protect Yourself Against Cyber Trespass Act' (aka SPY-ACT act) approved by a House of Representatives… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/05/i-spy-chases-spy-act-through-approval-process/

Massive lawsuit brought against spam harvesters

Harvesting detection project aims to prosecute address abusers.
Harvesting detection project aims to prosecute address abusers. A community project dedicated to gathering information on the collection of email addresses for spamming purposes… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/05/massive-lawsuit-brought-against-spam-harvesters/

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