VB Blog

Parting thoughts 2: the need for education in security

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Dec 18, 2019

In the second of a five-part series of blog posts, departing VB Editor Martijn Grooten explains why he believes cybersecurity professionals need to educate themselves on the complexities of the real-world situations in which security is applied.

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VB2019 paper: Absolutely routed!! Why routers are the new bullseye in cyber attacks

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Dec 18, 2019

Today we publish the VB2019 paper by Anurag Shandilya (K7 Computing) who looked at recent malware attacks against routers, as well as the video of his presentation in London.

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Parting thoughts 1: cybersecurity as a social science

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Dec 17, 2019

In the first of a five-part series of blog post, departing VB Editor Martijn Grooten explains why he believes cybersecurity isn't as much as technical field as we like to believe.

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VB2020 call for papers - now open!

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Dec 16, 2019

Have you analysed a new online threat? Do you know a new way to defend against such threats? Are you tasked with securing systems and fending off attacks? The call for papers for VB2020 is now open and we want to hear from you!

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VB2019 paper: Operation Soft Cell - a worldwide campaign against telecommunication providers

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Dec 13, 2019

Today we publish the VB2019 paper by Cybereason researchers Mor Levi, Amit Serper and Assaf Dahan on Operation Soft Cell, a targeted attack against telecom providers around the world.

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VB2019 paper: A study of Machete cyber espionage operations in Latin America

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Dec 10, 2019

At VB2019 in London a group of researchers from the Stratosphere Lab at the Czech Technical University in Prague presented a paper in which they analysed and dissected the cyber espionage activities of an APT group in Latin America through the analysis of one of its tools, known as Machete. Today we publish their paper and the recording of their presentation.

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VB2019 paper: The push from fiction for increased surveillance, and its impact on privacy

Posted by   Helen Martin on   Dec 5, 2019

In a paper presented at VB2019 in London, researchers Miriam Cihodariu (Heimdal Security) and Andrei Bogdan Brad (Code4Romania) looked at how surveillance is represented in fiction and how these representations are shaping people's attitudes to surveillance in current legal debates. Today we publish both their paper and the recording of Miriam presenting the paper in London.

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VB2019 paper: Oops! It happened again!

Posted by   Helen Martin on   Dec 3, 2019

At VB2019 in London industry veterans Righard Zwienenberg and Eddy Willems took a detailed look at the relationship between past and current cyber threats. Today, we publish both their paper and the recording of their presentation.

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Job vacancy at VB: Security Evangelist

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Nov 29, 2019

Virus Bulletin is recruiting for a person to be the public face of the company

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VB2019 video: Thwarting Emotet email conversation thread hijacking with clustering

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Nov 29, 2019

At VB2019 in London, ZEROSPAM researchers Pierre-Luc Vaudry and Olivier Coutu discussed how email clustering could be used to detect malicious Emotet emails that hijacked existing email threads. Today we publish the recording of their presentation.

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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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