VB Blog

How broken is SHA-1 really?

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Mar 15, 2016

SHA-1 collisions may be found in the next few months, but that doesn't mean that fake SHA-1-based certificates will be created in the near future. Nevertheless, it is time for everyone, and those working in security in particular, to move away from outdated hash functions.

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VB2016 Call for Papers - Frequently Asked Questions

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Mar 11, 2016

Are you interested in submitting an abstract for VB2016? We've answered some frequently asked questions about the Call for Papers, which closes next week.

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Throwback Thursday: Hash Woes

Posted by   Helen Martin on   Mar 10, 2016

This Throwback Thursday we go back to 2004, when the entire crypto community was abuzz with the news that a group of Chinese researchers had demonstrated flaws in a whole set of hash functions - VB took a closer look to clarify the situation and draw lessons from the incident.

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VB2015 paper: Mobile Banking Fraud via SMS in North America: Who's Doing it and How

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Mar 2, 2016

Though SMS may have been claimed dead many time, it is still very much alive, and quite popular among mobile phishers. At VB2015, Adaptive Mobile researcher Cathal Mc Daid presented a paper various mobile phishing campaigns targeting North American banks.

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Throwback Thursday: Viruses on the Internet

Posted by   Helen Martin on   Feb 25, 2016

This Throwback Thursday VB heads back to 1996 when - long before the days of driveby downloads and exploit kits - VB published a report on the state of viruses on the Internet.

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RSA and BSides San Francisco

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Feb 24, 2016

Next week, Virus Bulletin Editor Martijn Grooten will attend the RSA conference in San Francisco, where he will give a talk entitled "How Broken Is Our Crypto Really?" He will also speak at BSides San Francisco, where he will give a talk entitled "Elliptic Curve Cryptography for Those Who are Afraid of Mathematics".

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Virus Bulletin publishes first web filter test report

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Feb 19, 2016

After a lot of preparation, Virus Bulletin is proud to have published the first "VBWeb" comparative web filter test report, in which products' ability to block web-based malware and drive-by downloads was tested. Fortinet's FortiGuard appliance was the first product to achieve a VBWeb certification.

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VB2015 paper: Will Android Trojans, Worms or Rootkits Survive in SEAndroid and Containerization?

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Feb 18, 2016

Sophos researchers Rowland Yu and William Lee look at whether recent security enhancements to Android, such as SEAndroid and containerization, will be enough to defeat future malware threats.

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First six VB2016 sponsors announced

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Feb 17, 2016

Virus Bulletin is excited to announce the first six sponsors for VB2016, the 26th international Virus Bulletin conference, which will take place in Denver, Colorado, USA 5-7 October 2016.

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VB2015 paper: Sizing cybercrime: incidents and accidents, hints and allegations

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Feb 11, 2016

Cybercrime is big. But how big is it really? In a paper presented at VB2015 and together with the presentation video published on our website today, ESET researcher Stephen Cobb looks at previous studies that attempt the size of cybercrime and asks why we need such data and what can be done better.

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Throwback Thursday: What DDoS it all Mean?

This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back to March 2000, when DDoS attacks were a newly emerging menace.
This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back to March 2000, when DDoS attacks were a newly emerging menace. Today, DDoS attacks are a well-known form of cyber abuse — indeed,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/11/throwback-thursday-what-ddos-it-all-mean/

Throwback Thursday: Inside Sony's rootkit

This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back ten years, when the discovery of a rootkit ignited a firestorm of criticism for Sony.
This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back ten years, when the discovery of a rootkit ignited a firestorm of criticism for Sony. Rootkits are common among modern malware, and… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/11/throwback-thursday-inside-sony-s-rootkit/

Throwback Thursday: Memetic Mass Mailers: Time to Classify Hoaxes as Malware?

This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back to July 2002, when virus hoaxes were wreaking havoc in homes and organizations worldwide.
This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back to July 2002, when virus hoaxes were wreaking havoc in homes and organizations worldwide. Virus hoaxes — false reports or warnings… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/10/throwback-thursday-memetic-mass-mailers-time-classify-hoaxes-malware/

Throwback Thursday: The real virus problem

Anti-virus and security related articles provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back to February 2004 when, in order to get a gauge of the "real" virus problem, Jim Bates presented the findings of a survey of UK… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/10/throwback-thursday-real-virus-problem/

Throwback Thursday: Misguided or malevolent? New trends in virus writing

This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back to February 2004 when Stuart Taylor wondered whether there was truly a criminal element entering virus writing.
This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back to February 2004 when Stuart Taylor wondered whether there was truly a criminal element entering virus writing. These days, no one… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/10/throwback-thursday-misguided-or-malevolent-new-trends-virus-writing/

Throwback Thursday: The First International Virus Bulletin Conference

This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back to October 1991 to take a look back at the first ever VB Conference: VB'91 in Jersey.
This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back to October 1991 to take a look back at the first ever VB Conference: VB'91 in Jersey. With VB2015, the 25th Virus Bulletin… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/09/throwback-thursday-first-international-conference/

Throwback Thursday: Virus Writer and Distributors 'Attributable Viruses'

This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back to July 1990, when VB looked at virus origins and some of the rare cases of attributable viruses.
This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back to July 1990, when VB looked at virus origins and some of the rare cases of attributable viruses. This week saw the confession of a… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/09/throwback-thursday-virus-writer-and-distributors-attributable-viruses/

Paper: Custom packer defeats multiple automation systems

Combination of anti-automation, anti-VM and anti-reverse engineering to make researchers' lives harder.
Combination of anti-automation, anti-VM and anti-reverse engineering to make researchers' lives harder. Ever since the number of new malware samples became so large we could no… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/09/paper-custom-packer-defeats-multiple-automation-systems/

Throwback Thursday: Computer Viruses: Electronically Transmitted Disease?

This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back to March 2003, when VB reported on a piece of research investigating the psychological toll inflicted by computer viruses.
This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back to March 2003, when VB reported on a piece of research investigating the psychological toll inflicted by computer viruses. One could… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/09/throwback-thursday-computer-viruses-electronically-transmitted-disease/

Throwback Thursday: Safe Hex in the 21st Century

This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back to July 2000, when we were already being warned that virus scanners were no longer enough.
This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back to July 2000, when we were already being warned that virus scanners were no longer enough. How many times have we heard commentators… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/08/throwback-thursday-safe-hex-21st-century/

Throwback Thursday: The Virus Analyst Headache

This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back to April 1999, when the average virus analyst had to manually process around ten or more viruses per day, and the growing complexity and volume of viruses was proving a headache.
This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back to April 1999, when the average virus analyst had to manually process around ten or more viruses per day, and the growing complexity… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/08/throwback-thursday-virus-analyst-headache/

Throwback Thursday: IT Security Breaches: The 1994 NCC Survey

This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back to November 1994, when VB asked: what is the nature of the real virus problem, and how much does it cost?
This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back to November 1994, when VB asked: what is the nature of the real virus problem, and how much does it cost? Year after year, we see… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/08/throwback-thursday-it-security-breaches-1994-ncc-survey/

Throwback Thursday: Palm Breach

This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back to July 2000, when concerns were growing about malicious threats to the Palm Personal Digital Assistant.
This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back to July 2000, when concerns were growing about malicious threats to the Palm Personal Digital Assistant. In the 1980s, no one left… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/08/throwback-thursday-palm-breach/

Throwback Thursday: Riotous Assembly

This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back to January 1994, shortly after Cyber Riot had emerged as the first virus capable of infecting the Windows kernel.
This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back to January 1994, shortly after Cyber Riot had emerged as the first virus capable of infecting the Windows kernel. Today, malware… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/07/throwback-thursday-riotous-assembly/

Throwback Thursday: Sizewell B: Fact or Fiction?

This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back to 1993, when VB asked the key question: could a virus compromise safety at one of Britain's nuclear power plants?
This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back to 1993, when VB asked the key question: could a virus compromise safety at one of Britain's nuclear power plants? 2010 saw the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/07/throwback-thursday-sizewell-b-fact-or-fiction/

Throwback Thursday: What You Pay For...

This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back to 1996, when VB looked at what was available to protect your computer free of charge.
This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back to 1996, when VB looked at what was available to protect your computer free of charge. Today, the 'freemium' business model is a… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/07/throwback-thursday-what-you-pay/

Throwback Thursday: Cabirn Fever

This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back to 2004, when the first worm to spread from mobile phone to mobile phone appeared.
This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back to 2004, when the first worm to spread from mobile phone to mobile phone appeared. Since it first appeared almost exactly 11 years… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/07/throwback-thursday-cabirn-fever/

Throwback Thursday: The Updating Game

This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back to 1997, when automatic updates of AV software were not the norm.
This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back to 1997, when automatic updates of AV software were not the norm. We all know that the malware scene has changed almost beyond… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/07/throwback-thursday-updating-game/

Nominations opened for second Péter Ször Award

'Brilliant mind and a true gentleman' commemorated through annual award for technical security research.
'Brilliant mind and a true gentleman' commemorated through annual award for technical security research. During VB2014 in Seattle, we presented the first annual Péter Ször Award to… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/06/nominations-opened-second-p-ter-sz-r-award/

Throwback Thursday: KAOS on the Superhighway?

This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back to 1994, when KAOS4 was discovered on the Internet.
This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back to 1994, when KAOS4 was discovered on the Internet. A new virus has been found on the Internet — today, this is an unfortunate fact… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/06/throwback-thursday-kaos-superhighway/

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