VB Blog

Vulnerability disclosure and botnet takedown not to be hindered by Wassenaar Arrangement

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Dec 19, 2017

Clarification in the language of the Wassenaar Arrangement, a multilateral export control regime for conventional arms and dual-use goods and technologies, means those involved in vulnerability disclosure or botnet takedown won't have to worry about acquiring an export licence.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Zitmo trojan for Android defeats two-factor authentication

Malware intercepts TANs sent via SMS.
Malware intercepts TANs sent via SMS. A new variant of the Zitmo trojan has been discovered that infects mobile devices running the Android platform and which intercepts SMS… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/07/zitmo-trojan-android-defeats-two-factor-authentication/

DroidKungFu command and control server may be mobile device

Android trojan makes use of root exploit.
Android trojan makes use of root exploit. Researchers at Fortinet have discovered a command and control server for the 'DroidKungFu' Android trojan that appears to be a mobile… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/06/droidkungfu-command-and-control-server-may-be-mobile-device/

Exploit kit targets customers of air travel websites

SpyEye configuration intercepts personal data submitted to legitimate websites.
SpyEye configuration intercepts personal data submitted to legitimate websites. Security researchers have uncovered a version of the 'SpyEye' trojan that steals credit card and… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/06/exploit-kit-targets-customers-air-travel-websites/

Banking malware hosted on Amazon's cloud servers

Trojan targets mostly Brazilian banks.
Trojan targets mostly Brazilian banks. Researchers have discovered malware hosted on Amazon Web Services that steals victims' bank account data. Acting as a rootkit, the malware… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/06/banking-malware-hosted-amazon-s-cloud-servers/

Spammers use unicode trick to manipulate file names

Windows executable appears to be Word document.
Windows executable appears to be Word document. An unicode trick that reverses the order of some characters has been used by spammers to disguise malicious attachments as harmless… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/05/spammers-use-unicode-trick-manipulate-file-names/

Zeus source code leaked

Banking trojan among the most advanced of its kind.
Banking trojan among the most advanced of its kind. Researchers at Danish security firm CSIS have discovered that the full source code of the Zeus crime kit has been leaked to… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/05/zeus-source-code-leaked/

Scammers take advantage of Epsilon data breach

Trojan hidden as security tool for affected customers.
Trojan hidden as security tool for affected customers. Scammers are currently taking advantage of the data breach that affected email security provider Epsilon recently, by… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/04/scammers-take-advantage-epsilon-data-breach/

Ransom trojan demands Windows re-activation

Criminals make money through calls to supposedly free phone number.
Criminals make money through calls to supposedly free phone number. A new piece of ransomware has been discovered that shows the PC user a blue screen and asks them to re-activate… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/04/ransom-trojan-demands-windows-re-activation/

'Job application' contains malicious attachment

$150,000 lost via banking trojan.
$150,000 lost via banking trojan. An unidentified US company has learned the hard way that email attachments - even to those that appear to be solicited - may contain malware. The… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/01/job-application-contains-malicious-attachment/

Eight Zeus-related money mules arrested

Arrests in US and Moldova show that cybercriminals aren't immune to the law.
Arrests in US and Moldova show that cybercriminals aren't immune to the law. Police in the US state of Wisconsin have arrested two Moldovan citizens who they believe have worked as… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/11/eight-zeus-related-money-mules-arrested/

Malicious tweets link to fake TweetDeck update

Twitter resets passwords for accounts that appear to have been hacked.
Twitter resets passwords for accounts that appear to have been hacked.Twitter users who recently clicked on links in tweets urging them to upgrade their version of TweetDeck - the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/09/malicious-tweets-link-fake-tweetdeck-update/

Android SMS trojan goes wild

Premium-rate text scam shows growing cracks in smart phone security.
Premium-rate text scam shows growing cracks in smart phone security. The first known SMS trojan affecting smart phones running Google's Android operating system has been observed… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/08/android-sms-trojan-goes-wild/

Firefox 4 crack spreads trojan

'Cracked' versions of free software used to spread malware
'Cracked' versions of free software used to spread malware In a new malware campaign, users are told they can download a free crack of the Firefox 4 browser, only to find… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/08/firefox-4-crack-spreads-trojan/

Warrant issued for arrest of cyclist turned hacker

Cyclist accused of planting trojan at dope testing lab.
Cyclist accused of planting trojan at dope testing lab. A French judge has issued a warrant for the arrest of US cyclist Floyd Landis in connection with a computer hacking case.… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/02/warrant-issued-arrest-cyclist-turned-hacker/

Out-of-band patch release from Adobe

Unscheduled update released by Adobe.
Unscheduled update released by Adobe.Adobe has released an unscheduled patch for its Reader and Acrobat programs to address some critical flaws. The software company's fixes… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/02/out-band-patch-release-adobe/

Yxe trojan infecting mobile phones

Symbian software-signing slipup certifies SMS spambot.
Symbian software-signing slipup certifies SMS spambot. A new trojan, the first of its kind, is affecting users of the Symbian mobile operating system by spreading itself via text… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/07/yxe-trojan-infecting-mobile-phones/

Keyloggers used to loot US county

$415,000 sneaked from local government funds.
$415,000 sneaked from local government funds. A Kentucky county has suffered losses of $415,000 after keylogging malware infiltrated its computer systems, allowing cybercriminals… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/07/keyloggers-used-loot-us-county/

Microsoft issues emergency patch

Out-of-cycle update fixes serious, wormable flaw.
Out-of-cycle update fixes serious, wormable flaw.Microsoft has issued an emergency update to cover a serious vulnerability in the Windows Server service, breaking its usual monthly… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/10/microsoft-issues-emergency-patch/

Malware reaches space station

Autorun worm found on non-critical systems.
Autorun worm found on non-critical systems. US space agency NASA has confirmed reports that laptops in use on the international space station have been found to have been infected… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/08/malware-reaches-space-station/

Best Western database hack exposes info on 8m customers

Hotel chain data heist latest in string of major security leaks.
Hotel chain data heist latest in string of major security leaks. The global hotel chain Best Western has had its network security breached, leading to full details of thousands of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/08/best-western-database-hack-exposes-info-8m-customers/

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