VB Blog

We are more ready for IPv6 email than we may think

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jun 21, 2018

Though IPv6 is gradually replacing IPv4 on the Internet's network layer, email is lagging behind, the difficulty in blocking spam sent over IPv6 cited as a reason not to move. But would we really have such a hard time blocking spam sent over IPv6?

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Subtle change could see a reduction in installation of malicious Chrome extensions

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jun 13, 2018

Google has made a subtle change to its Chrome browser, banning the inline installation of new extensions, thus making it harder for malware authors to trick users into unwittingly installing malicious extensions.

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Paper: EternalBlue: a prominent threat actor of 2017–2018

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jun 11, 2018

We publish a paper by researchers from Quick Heal Security Labs in India, who study the EternalBlue and DoublePulsar exploits in full detail.

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'North Korea' a hot subject among VB2018 talks

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Jun 1, 2018

Several VB2018 papers deal explicitly or implicitly with threats that have been attributed to North Korean actors.

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Expired domain led to SpamCannibal's blacklist eating the whole world

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   May 31, 2018

The domain of the little-used SpamCannibal DNS blacklist had expired, resulting in it effectively listing every single IP address.

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MnuBot banking trojan communicates via SQL server

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   May 30, 2018

Researchers at IBM X-Force have discovered MnuBot, a banking trojan targeting users in Brazil, which is noteworthy for using SQL Server for command and control communication.

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Throwback Thursday: Giving the EICAR test file some teeth

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   May 24, 2018

The 68-byte EICAR test file plays as important a role today as it did 19 years ago. In this week's Throwback Thursday we look back at a VB99 conference paper in which Randy Abrams described how this 'miracle tool' worked and how it could be used.

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XMRig used in new macOS cryptominer

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   May 23, 2018

A new piece of cryptocurrency-mining malware on macOS has been found to use the popular XMRig miner.

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Tendency for DDoS attacks to become less volumetric fits in a wider trend

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   May 22, 2018

CDN provider Cloudflare reports an increase in DDoS attacks targeting layer 7 and focusing on exhausting server resources rather than sending large volumes of data. This fits in a wider trend.

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Turkish Twitter users targeted with mobile FinFisher spyware

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   May 15, 2018

Through fake social media accounts, users were tricked into installing an Android application that was actually a mobile version of the FinFisher spyware.

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VB2017 preview: Your role in child abuse

We preview the VB2017 presentation by Mick Moran, who will discuss online child abuse and the role the security community can play fighting it.
When previewing VB conference talks, I often get excited about presentations that are to showcase clever attacks and brilliant techniques to fight them. About Mick Moran's VB2017… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/08/vb2017-preview-your-role-child-abuse/

VB2017 preview: Mariachis and jackpotting: ATM malware from Latin America

We preview the VB2017 presentation by Kaspersky Lab researchers Thiago Marques and Fabio Assolini in which they look at malware targeting ATMs in Latin America.
A few years ago, I saw an ATM being opened for the first time. "Hold on," I thought, "this is really just a Windows XP PC!" Suddenly, I realised that, to attack an ATM,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/08/vb2017-preview-mariachis-and-jackpotting-atm-malware-latin-america/

VB2017 preview: Stuck between a ROC and a hard place

We preview the VB2017 paper by Microsoft's Holly Stewart and Joe Blackbird, which uses data about users switching anti-virus provider to decide whether machine-learning models should favour avoiding false positives over false negatives.
Authors of security software in general, and anti-virus software in particular, have always needed to find the right balance between a high detection rate and a low false positive… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/08/vb2017-preview-stuck-between-roc-and-hard-place/

Throwback Thursday: Ten memorable Virus Bulletin conference presentations - part 2

In the second part of this two-part blog series, we look at five more memorable Virus Bulletin conference presentations.
With an excellent conference programme featuring some of the top experts in the IT security industry and covering some of the most important topics, we have much to look forward… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/08/throwback-thursday-ten-memorable-virus-bulletin-conference-presentations-part-2/

Five tips for submitting to Calls for Papers

With the VB2017 Call for Papers out, here are five tips to increase your chances of getting your submission accepted.
Two weeks ago, we opened the call for last-minute papers for VB2017. Like most CPFs, the number of submissions will far exceed the number of available slots. There is no golden… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/08/five-tips-submitting-calls-papers/

Throwback Thursday: Ten memorable Virus Bulletin conference presentations - part 1

In a two-part blog post series, we look back at ten memorable VB conference presentations from the past ten years.
With an excellent conference programme (and still some gaps to fill!), we have much to look forward to when it comes to VB2017, the 27th Virus Bulletin conference. But we also… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/08/throwback-thursday-ten-memorable-virus-bulletin-conference-presentations-part-1/

VB2017 drinks reception to be hosted in Madrid's unique Geographic Club

To give those attending VB2017 Madrid a chance to experience a little bit of the host city, the VB2017 drinks reception will be held at the unique and fascinating Geographic Club.
When, at the end of VB2016, we announced Madrid as the location for VB2017, the cheering from the audience suggested that it was a popular choice. This is understandable of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/08/vb2017-drinks-reception-be-hosted-geographic-club/

VB2017 Small Talks and reserve papers announced

Today we announce the first two Small Talks for the VB2017 programme: ENISA will provide its perspective on the WannaCry outbreak and the lessons learned from it, while David Harley will talk about the past and present of security product testing.
Today, we are pleased to announce the first two Small Talks for the VB2017 programme. The 'Small Talks' were first introduced as a third stream at the VB Conference in 2015,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/07/small-talks-and-reserve-papers-announced-vb2017-programme/

VB2017 call for last-minute papers opened

Today, we open the call for last-minute papers for VB2017. Submit before 3 September to have your abstract considered for one of the ten slots reserved for 'hot' research.
UPDATE 4 Sept 2017: Please note that the call for last-minute papers for VB2017 has now closed. Virus Bulletin has opened the call for last-minute papers for VB2017. The… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/07/vb2017-call-last-minute-papers-opened/

Five reasons to come to VB2017 in Madrid

We're not ones to make bold claims about our conference, and we suggest you ask past attendees for their opinion, but here are five reasons why we think you should come to VB2017 in Madrid.
I regularly use this blog to add nuance to bold claims about dangerous vulnerabilities or impressive claims about security solutions – something that I think befits an independent… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/07/five-reasons-come-vb2017-madrid/

Advanced and inept persistent threats to be discussed at VB2017

Unsurprisingly given today's threat landscape, the VB2017 programme contains several talks on various advanced persistent threats - but also a talk on what may be the polar opposite of such threats: an inept persistent threat.
Only a few years ago, "APT" (advanced persistent threat) was a buzzword mostly heard being bandied around at security exhibitions to sell even more advanced technology to prevent,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/07/advanced-and-inept-persistent-threats-be-discussed-vb2017/

Save the dates: VB2018 to take place 3-5 October 2018

Though the location will remain a secret for a few more months, we are pleased to announce the dates for VB2018, the 28th Virus Bulletin International Conference.
While we hope that you have already circled the dates of 4-6 October 2017 in your agendas, and that you will join us and security experts from around the world for VB2017 in Spain… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/07/save-dates-vb2018-take-place-3-5-october-2018/

Review: BSides Athens 2017

The second edition of BSides Athens saw a great and varied programme presented in the Greek capital. VB's Martijn Grooten was pleased to attend.
BSides London has been a regular fixture on the Virus Bulletin agenda for the past few years, but its international audience (thanks to the event being held in parallel with… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/07/review-bsides-athens-2017/

Calling next-gen security researchers: student discount for VB2017 announced

For the third year in a row, we have set aside a limited number of student tickets for the Virus Bulletin conference, to allow 'next-generation' security researchers to experience one of the most important gatherings of security researchers around the wor…
Next-gen firewalls, next-gen anti-virus. At Virus Bulletin, we follow the 'next-gen' trends with interest, if only because behind the marketing there is often very interesting… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/07/calling-next-gen-security-researchers-student-discount-vb2017-announced/

VB2016 paper: BlackEnergy – what we really know about the notorious cyber attacks

According to some researchers, there is some evidence linking the recent (Not)Petya attacks with the BlackEnergy group - which became infamous for its targeted attacks against the Ukraine. At VB2016, ESET researchers Anton Cherepanov and Robert Lipovsky s…
In a blog post published on Friday, ESET researcher Anton Cherepanov provides evidence linking last week's (Not)Petya attacks to the BlackEnergy group; Kaspersky researchers also… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/07/vb2016-paper-blackenergy-what-we-really-know-about-notorious-cyber-attacks/

VB2017 Early Bird discount to expire this week

This week, the Early Bird discount for VB2017 comes to an end - so, for a 10% saving on the cost of full price registration, make sure you register now!
"Hundreds of businesses, both large and small, have suffered from the handiwork of the virus writers. It is now clear that a sabotage mentality exists and new computer viruses… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/06/vb2017-early-bird-discount-expire-week/

VB2016 paper: Steam stealers: it's all fun and games until someone's account gets hijacked

Last year, Kaspersky Lab researcher Santiago Pontiroli and PwC's Bart Parys presented a VB2016 paper analysing the malicious threats faced by users of the Steam online gaming platform, and highlighting how organized criminals are making money with these p…
The online games market is huge, and the Steam platform is a huge player in that market. Users registered on the Steam platform use their credit cards to buy content, and… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/06/vb2016-paper-steam-stealers-its-all-fun-and-games-until-someones-account-gets-hijacked/

Review: BSides London 2017

Virus Bulletin was a proud sponsor of BSides London 2017 - Martijn Grooten reports on a great event.
This month, for the first time in its 28-year history, Virus Bulletin became the sponsor of another industry conference: BSides London. I have to admit to having been more than a… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/06/review-bsides-london-2017/

VB2017: one of the most international security conferences

It is well known that the problem of cybersecurity is a global one that affects users worldwide - but it's also one that has some unique local flavours. With speakers representing at least 24 countries, VB2017 is one of the most international security con…
The 40 talks confirmed thus far for the VB2017 conference programme will be delivered by speakers that are based in 18 different countries across five continents. If you also… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/06/vb2017-one-most-international-security-conferences/

VB2016 paper: Diving into Pinkslipbot's latest campaign

Qakbot or Qbot, is a banking trojan that makes the news every once in a while and was the subject of a VB2016 paper by Intel Security researchers Sanchit Karve, Guilherme Venere and Mark Olea. In it, they provided a detailed analysis of the Pinkslipbot/Qa…
Pinkslipbot, also known as Qakbot or Qbot, is a banking trojan that makes the news every once in a while, yet never seems to get the attention of the world's Zbots and Dridexes. I… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/06/vb2016-paper-diving-pinkslipbots-latest-campaign/

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