VB Blog

VB2019 presentation: Attor: spy platform with curious GSM fingerprinting

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Feb 11, 2020

Attor is a newly discovered cyber-espionage platform, use of which dates back to at least 2014 and which focuses on diplomatic missions and governmental institutions. Details of Attor were presented at VB2019 in London by ESET researcher Zuzana Hromcová. Today we release the recording of Zuzana's presentation.

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Why we encourage newcomers and seasoned presenters alike to submit a paper for VB2020

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Feb 6, 2020

With the call for papers for VB2020 currently open, we explain why, whether you've never presented before or you're a conference circuit veteran, if you have some interesting research to share with the community we want to hear from you!

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VB2019 paper: The cake is a lie! Uncovering the secret world of malware-like cheats in video games

Posted by   Helen Martin on   Feb 5, 2020

At VB2019 in London, Kaspersky researcher Santiago Pontiroli presented a paper on the growing illegal economy around video game cheats and its parallels with the malware industry. Today we publish both Santiago's paper and the recording of his presentation.

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VB2019 paper: Rich headers: leveraging the mysterious artifact of the PE format

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Jan 31, 2020

In a paper presented at VB2019 in London, ESET researchers Peter Kálnai and Michal Poslušný discussed the subject of rich headers and how it can be useful in malware research. Today we publish both their paper and the recording of their presentation.

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VB2019 paper: Medical IoT for diabetes and cybercrime

Posted by   Helen Martin on   Jan 28, 2020

At VB2019 in London, Fortinet researcher Axelle Apvrille presented a paper co-written with Aamir Lakhani that looked at the threats faced by those who use medical IoT devices to help manage their diabetes. Today we publish the researchers' paper, as well as the recording of Axelle's presentation.

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VB2019 paper: Spoofing in the reeds with Rietspoof

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Jan 24, 2020

In a VB2019 paper Avast researchers Jan Sirmer, Luigino Camastra and Adolf Středa revealed full details of the Rietspoof malware. Today we publish their paper and the recording of the presentation given by Jan and Luigino in London.

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New paper: Behind the scenes of GandCrab's operation

Posted by   Helen Martin on   Jan 20, 2020

The GandCrab ransomware regularly updated itself to newer versions to stay ahead of decryptors released by security researchers, and regularly included taunts, jokes and references to security organizations in its code. In a new paper, the AhnLab Security Analysis Team reveal the full details of the battle that went on between GandCrab and AhnLab.

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VB2019 paper: King of the hill: nation-state counterintelligence for victim deconfliction

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Jan 16, 2020

At VB2019 Juan Andres Guerrero-Saade looked at nation-state actors using threat intelligence for victim deconfliction. Today we publish both his paper and the recording of his presentation.

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The VB2020 call for papers - how it works

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Jan 14, 2020

With the VB2020 Call for Papers now open, we explain how the selection procedure works, which may help you during your abstract submission.

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VB2019 presentation: Targeted attacks through ISPs

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Jan 13, 2020

In 2019 we saw a rise in the number of targeted malware infections spread via ISPs and service providers. In a last-minute paper presented at VB2019 in London, Kaspersky researcher Denis Legezo discussed the details of a number of such cases. Today we release the recording of Denis' presentation.

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VB2012 last-minute papers announced

Hot topics to be covered at VB conference in Dallas.
Hot topics to be covered at VB conference in Dallas. For the last six years, VB has set aside a section of the VB conference for 'last-minute' papers, the idea being that… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2012/09/last-minute-papers-announced/

Gach do bonn a mbaineann a chur chugainn

Why cybercriminals may have a reason for using Irish language in a ransomware scam.
Why cybercriminals may have a reason for using Irish language in a ransomware scam. According to a story that made the security headlines this weekend, and which seems to orginate… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2012/09/gach-do-bonn-mbaineann-chur-chugainn/

Thousands of websites infected with .htaccess redirect attack

Various anti-detection methods applied.
Various anti-detection methods applied. Thousands of legitimate websites have seen .htaccess files compromised and as a consequence have been used to serve the 'Milisenco' trojan,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2012/07/thousands-websites-infected-htaccess-redirect-attack/

Android malware hides inside JPG image

New LeNa variant no longer depends on rooted devices.
New LeNa variant no longer depends on rooted devices. Researchers at Lookout have discovered a new version of the 'LeNa' trojan for Android that does not require user interaction… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2012/04/android-malware-hides-inside-jpg-image/

Microsoft Word for Mac exploit used in targeted attacks

Tibetan NGOs targeted.
Tibetan NGOs targeted. Researchers at Alienvault have discovered a targeted attack against Tibetan NGOs that uses a three-year-old vulnerability in Microsoft Office for Mac.… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2012/03/microsoft-word-mac-exploit-used-targeted-attacks/

'Unsubscribe' URL in junk fax leads to malware

Trojan downloader behind .co.cc URL.
Trojan downloader behind .co.cc URL. Researchers at Vircom have discovered a junk fax with an 'unsubscribe' URL which contained a trojan downloader. Junk faxes (also known as 'fax… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2012/02/unsubscribe-url-junk-fax-leads-malware/

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/

'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/

SMS trojan targets Android users in eight western countries

Will another piece of mobile malware convince Google manager of the seriousness of the threat?
Will another piece of mobile malware convince Google manager of the seriousness of the threat? Researchers at Kaspersky have discovered an SMS trojan for Android phones that… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/11/sms-trojan-targets-android-users-eight-western-countries/

DNS poisoning attack targeting Brazilian customers

ISP employee suspected of changing DNS cache.
ISP employee suspected of changing DNS cache. Millions of Internet users in Brazil may have been exposed to malware after the DNS caches of their ISPs were modified to redirect… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/11/dns-poisoning-attack-targeting-brazilian-customers/

'Son of Stuxnet' trojan found

'Duqu' used in targeted attacks to steal specific information.
'Duqu' used in targeted attacks to steal specific information. Researchers at both Symantec and McAfee have discovered a new Remote Access Trojan (RAT) with strong links to Stuxnet… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/10/son-stuxnet-trojan-found/

Mac trojan is VMware-aware

Malicious execution stopped when virtual environment is detected.
Malicious execution stopped when virtual environment is detected. Researchers at F-Secure have found a variant of the 'Flashback' trojan for Mac (a fake Adobe Flash Player update)… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/10/mac-trojan-vmware-aware/

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/

Attack targets government agencies in CIS countries

Trojans used to steal specific files.
Trojans used to steal specific files. Researchers at Trend Micro have discovered an ongoing targeted attack against, among others, government agencies and diplomatic missions in… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/09/attack-targets-government-agencies-cis-countries/

Trojan steals money from bank accounts via 'training session'

Social engineering circumvents banking security
Social engineering circumvents banking security In a new method of stealing money from customer accounts, a variant of the SpyEye trojan invites the user to make a supposedly… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/09/trojan-steals-money-bank-accounts-training-session/

Researchers find email used in RSA hack

Email with malicious attachment uploaded to online scanning service
Email with malicious attachment uploaded to online scanning service Researchers at F-Secure have managed to obtain the file used in the targeted attack against security vendor RSA… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/08/researchers-find-email-used-rsa-hack/

Explosive growth of malicious spam

Spam filters less likely to block current malware campaigns.
Spam filters less likely to block current malware campaigns. While several reports show that the global levels of spam have seen a steady decline over the past year, this month has… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/08/explosive-growth-malicious-spam/

Fake codec trojan disables anti-virus software

Victim tricked into believing security software still active.
Victim tricked into believing security software still active. A new trojan, discovered by researchers at ESET, spreads itself via fake codecs, then disables running anti-virus… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/08/fake-codec-trojan-disables-anti-virus-software/

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/

Trojan uses remote user account to control compromised machine

Malware targets customers of Brazilian banks.
Malware targets customers of Brazilian banks. Researchers at Kaspersky have discovered a piece of malware aimed at customers of Brazilian banks which creates a remote user account… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/07/trojan-uses-remote-user-account-control-compromised-machine/

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