VB Blog

VB2016 paper: Wave your false flags! Deception tactics muddying attribution in targeted attacks

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Nov 21, 2016

Today, we publish the VB2016 paper and presentation (recording) by Kaspersky Lab researchers Juan Andrés Guerrero-Saade and Brian Bartholomew, in which they look at some of the deception tactics used in targeted attacks.

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Throwback Thursday: The Politics of Anti-Virus

Posted by   Helen Martin on   Nov 10, 2016

President-elect of the United States Donald Trump made a number of promises about cybersecurity during his electoral campaign. What comes of those pledges remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: there will be a team of hard-working, dedicated individuals working behind the scenes to protect the computer systems of Federal government agencies, as there have been for years. Back in 1999, VB published a report describing a day in the life of the Affiliated Computer Services Government Solutions Group (ACS GSG) - the group responsible for providing full service computer support to US Federal government agencies across the United States.

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VB2016 paper: The TAO of Automated Iframe Injectors - Building Drive-by Platforms For Fun

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Oct 18, 2016

We publish Aditya K. Sood's VB2016 paper on the use of iframe injectors by cybercriminals to deliver drive-by downloads.

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“Cybersecurity is, at its core, a people problem,” says VB2016 keynote speaker

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Sep 26, 2016

An interview with VB2016’s keynote speaker Christine Whalley - Director, Governance and IT Risk Management at Pfizer

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Throwback Thursday: Following the Breadcrumbs

Posted by   Helen Martin on   Sep 22, 2016

In 1999, Christine Orshesky described how one large organization decided to find out how and where the viruses within it were being obtained so it could do more to protect its networks.

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VB2016 preview: Cryptography mistakes in malware

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Sep 15, 2016

At VB2016, two talks will discuss mistakes made by malware authors in cryptographic implementations. Ben Herzog and Yaniv Balmas will present a paper in which they look at a number of these mistakes, while Malwarebytes researcher hasherezade will present a last-minute paper on making use of some of these mistakes to crack ransomware.

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GPS technology is more at risk from cyber attack than ever before, security expert demonstrates at VB2016

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Sep 14, 2016

Next month at VB2016, HPE Security's Oleg Petrovsky will speak about attacks on GPS. We conducted a short interview with Oleg and asked him about GPS, about the conference, and about his ultimate dinner party.

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BSides Denver: Join and Support the Security Community

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Sep 13, 2016

If you are coming to VB2016 in Denver, why not spend an extra day in the Mile-High City and join the free BSides Denver conference, which takes place on Saturday?

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VB2016 'Last-Minute' Papers Announced

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Sep 13, 2016

We are excited to announce the addition of the "last-minute" papers to the VB2016 programme: nine presentations covering hot research topics, from OS X attacks to exotic APTs, breaking ransomware and the current state of BGP.

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VB2016 preview: Debugging and Monitoring Malware Network Activities with Haka

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Sep 12, 2016

In a VB2016 paper, Stormshield researchers Benoit Ancel and Mehdi Talbi will present a paper on Haka, a tool that can be used to monitor and debug malware's network communications.

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Search blog

Compromised Yahoo! accounts continue to spread Android malware

Problem likely to be on Yahoo!'s side.
Problem likely to be on Yahoo!'s side. In recent weeks, we have noticed an uptick in the amount of spam sent from compromised Yahoo! accounts; we have reasons to believe the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/06/compromised-yahoo-accounts-continue-spread-android-malware/

AV Test releases Android test data

30 mobile solutions tested for malware protection and speed hit.
30 mobile solutions tested for malware protection and speed hit. Independent test organization AV-Test has released its latest report, covering the Andriod platform. This major… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/06/av-test-releases-android-test-data/

India believed to be source of sophisticated surveillance campaigns

In-depth investigations find widespread worldwide snooping, Pakistan primary target.
In-depth investigations find widespread worldwide snooping, Pakistan primary target. Several reports have emerged recently covering a highly organised campaign of targeted… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/05/india-believed-be-source-sophisticated-surveillance-campaigns/

Commoditization increasingly seen in mobile malware

Number of malicious samples and families increase, as Android remains most popular mobile platform.
Number of malicious samples and families increase, as Android remains most popular mobile platform. As the number of mobile malware samples in existence continues to grow faster… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/05/commoditization-increasingly-seen-mobile-malware/

Program turns anti-analysis tools against the malware

Users cautioned to be wary of a false sense of security.
Users cautioned to be wary of a false sense of security. Could you defeat VM-aware malware by making your system aware of VM-aware malware? Tricks to frustrate researchers and… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/05/program-turns-anti-analysis-tools-against-malware/

Flame worm one of the most complex threats ever discovered

Malware possibly used for cyber-espionage.
Malware possibly used for cyber-espionage. The jury is out on whether 'Flame' (also known as 'Flamer' or 'Skywiper') is 'the most lethal cyberweapon to date' as some have claimed,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2012/05/flame-worm-one-most-complex-threats-ever-discovered/

FBI warns against malware installed via hotel networks

Malware poses as fake update of popular software.
Malware poses as fake update of popular software. The FBI has warned travellers against fake software updates served through hotel connections which actually attempt to install… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2012/05/fbi-warns-against-malware-installed-hotel-networks/

Android malware served via compromised websites

Malware downloaded automatically, but requires user permission to be installed.
Malware downloaded automatically, but requires user permission to be installed. Researchers at mobile security company Lookout have discovered a number of compromised websites that… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2012/05/android-malware-served-compromised-websites/

Significant rise in malicious spam and phishing

Over one quarter of malicious emails contain eight-year-old malware.
Over one quarter of malicious emails contain eight-year-old malware. Email security firm eleven has reported a significant rise in both malicious emails and phishing emails in the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2012/04/significant-rise-malicious-spam-and-phishing/

New Zeus/SpyEye botnet does away with command-and-control servers

Increasing use of UDP to avoid communication tracking.
Increasing use of UDP to avoid communication tracking. Researchers at Symantec have discovered a new parallel build of Zeus (also known as Zbot) and SpyEye that appears to be… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2012/02/new-zeus-spyeye-botnet-does-away-command-and-control-servers/

Sykipot trojan used to target smart cards

Defence companies among small number of targets.
Defence companies among small number of targets. Researchers at Alienvault have discovered a version of the 'Sykipot' trojan that is being used to target organisations that make… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2012/01/sykipot-trojan-used-target-smart-cards/

'Largest takedown ever' sees six arrested

Millions made through 'DNSChanger' malware.
Millions made through 'DNSChanger' malware. Six Estonian nationals have been arrested for taking part in a cybercrime ring that made money through DNS-changing malware that had… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/11/largest-takedown-ever-sees-six-arrested/

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/

Government trojan found on German computers

Four states admit the use of spyware.
Four states admit the use of spyware. Controversy has arisen in Germany, after the well-known CCC hacker group reported that it had found a trojan that was used to spy on behalf of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/10/government-trojan-found-german-computers/

Alureon trojan uses steganography to receive commands

Messages hidden inside images create extra layer of redundancy.
Messages hidden inside images create extra layer of redundancy. Researchers at Microsoft have discovered a new variant of the 'Alureon' trojan that uses steganography to make… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/09/alureon-trojan-uses-steganography-receive-commands/

Malicious spam campaigns leave experts puzzled

Increase in malware in spam has not led to increase in malicious activity.
Increase in malware in spam has not led to increase in malicious activity. Security researchers have noticed a significant increase in the quantity of spam sent with malicious… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/09/malicious-spam-campaigns-leave-experts-puzzled/

Banking malware tells user to 'refund' money

Web injection used to suggest accidental transfer.
Web injection used to suggest accidental transfer. In a new twist to banking trojans, a piece of malware found on German computers tricks victims into believing a large amount has… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/08/banking-malware-tells-user-refund-money/

Malicious PHP script hides bad stuff inside 'white-space'

Spaces and tabs used to encode into binary.
Spaces and tabs used to encode into binary. Researchers at Kaspersky have discovered a malicious PHP script that uses an inventive way to obfuscate its malicious behaviour. The… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/06/malicious-php-script-hides-bad-stuff-inside-white-space/

Facebook scam serving malware

Attack targeting Windows and Mac users in US and UK.
Attack targeting Windows and Mac users in US and UK. A Facebook scam that is doing the rounds at the moment - claiming to contain a 'freaky video' related to the ongoing case… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/06/facebook-scam-serving-malware/

Canada new hotbed for cybercriminal activity

Country's IP addresses less likely to be scrutinized.
Country's IP addresses less likely to be scrutinized. Security firm Websense has reported a significant increase in cybercrime originating in Canada. Hitherto, Canada and… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/05/canada-new-hotbed-cybercriminal-activity/

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