VB Blog

Consumer spyware: a serious threat with a different threat model

Posted by Martijn Grooten on Apr 25, 2017

Consumer spyware is a growing issue and one that can have serious consequences: its use is increasingly common in domestic violence. But do our threat models consider the attacker with physical access to, and inside knowledge of the victim?

Posted by Martijn Grooten on Apr 24, 2017

In their VB2016 paper, Stormshield researchers Benoît Ancel and Mehdi Talbi introduced Haka, an open-source language to monitor, debug and control malicious network traffic. Both their paper and the video recording of their presentation are now available to read/view on www.virusbulletin.com.

Posted by Martijn Grooten on Apr 13, 2017

We are proud to announce a very broad and very international programme for VB2017, which will take place in Madrid, 4-6 October 2017.

Posted by Martijn Grooten on Apr 10, 2017

Virus Bulletin is excited to announce John-Graham Cumming and Brian Honan as the two keynote speakers for VB2017 in Madrid.

Posted by Martijn Grooten on Mar 31, 2017

As VB's COO John Hawes moves on to new challenges, the team wish him a fond farewell and good luck in his future endeavours.

Posted by Martijn Grooten on Mar 28, 2017

Symantec researchers Himanshu Anand and Chastine Menrige explain how a single click can lead to a compromised machine, without malware ever being stored on disk.

Posted by Martijn Grooten on Mar 22, 2017

The Necurs botnet has started sending pump-and-dump spam. Almost all of these emails are blocked by spam filters, yet the stock price still increased.

Posted by Martijn Grooten on Mar 10, 2017

Realistically speaking, if your software or system uses the SHA-1 hashing algorithm, it is unlikely that it will be exploited in the foreseeable future. But it is also extremely difficult to be certain that your system won't be the exception.

Posted by Martijn Grooten on Mar 10, 2017

The call for papers for VB2017, which takes place 4 to 6 October in Madrid, Spain, is currently open. We're always on the look out for new speakers and new content, so to help anyone who's unfamiliar with the VB conference, we've prepared a list of answers to some frequently asked questions about the event, and about how to submit a paper.

Posted by Helen Martin on Mar 9, 2017

This week marked the 25th anniversary of the trigger date of the infamous Michelangelo virus. In January 1992, VB published an analysis of the boot sector virus that captured the imagination of the press and kicked up a media storm.

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We need to continue the debate on the ethics and perils of publishing security research

An article by security researcher Collin Anderson reopens the debate on whether publishing threat analyses is always in the public interest.
At VB2015 in Prague, Juan Andrés Guerro-Saade, then of Kaspersky Lab, presented an important paper on the transformation of security researchers into intelligence brokers and how… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2018/02/we-need-continue-debate-ethics-and-perils-publishing-security-research/

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/

A Christmas present for the security community

As a Christmas present for the security community, we have uploaded most of the papers and videos from the VB2015 conference which took place in Prague almost 15 months ago. The Virus Bulletin crew wishes you all the best for 2017!
A botnet of Internet-connected cameras causing the largest DDoS ever; the ransomware threat that appears to get worse every day; a state-sponsored hacker group that attempted to… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2016/december/christmas-present-security-community/

More on the Moose botnet at Botconf

At Botconf 2016 this week, GoSecure researchers Masarah Paquet-Clouston and Olivier Bilodeau presented their research on the Moose botnet - something Olivier Bilodeau previously spoke about at VB2015.
This week, several members of the Virus Bulletin team are attending Botconf 2016 in Lyon, France. Security conferences provide good opportunities to meet fellow researchers and to… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2016/december/more-moose-botnet-botconf/

VB2015 paper: VolatilityBot: Malicious Code Extraction Made by and for Security Researchers

In his VB2015 paper, Martin Korman presented his 'VolatilyBot' tool, which extracts malicious code from packed binaries, leveraging the functionality of the Volatility Framework.
Given the sheer volume of new malware samples discovered every day, security researchers eagerly make use of tools that will help automate their research and analysis. IBM… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2016/02/vb2015-paper-volatilitybot-malicious-code-extraction-made-and-security-researchers/

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

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.
While SMS has been declared dead many times, the service remains frequently used - and abused. In a paper presented at VB2015 in Prague, Adaptive Mobile researcher Cathal Mc… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2016/03/vb2015-paper-mobile-banking-fraud-sms-north-america-whos-doing-it-and-how/

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

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.
Google's Android operating system may have a bit of a bad reputation when it comes to security, but it's worth noting that recent versions of the operating system have been… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2016/02/vb2015-paper-will-android-trojans-worms-or-rootkits-survive-seandroid-and-containerization/

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

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…
How big is cybercrime? Various attempts have been made to measure the size of cybercrime around the world, or in individual countries, but how reliable are the methodologies… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2016/02/vb2015-paper-sizing-cybercrime-incidents-and-accidents-hints-and-allegations/

VB2015 video: TurlaSat: The Fault in our Stars

In a presentation at VB2015 in Prague, Kaspersky Lab researcher Kurt Baumgartner talked about Turla's extraplanetary activities: the malware used (and abused) satellite Internet connections for command and control communication.
Kurt Baumgartner talks about Turla's extraplanetary activities. Despite the hype around the subject, the tools used by most so-called APT groups are surprisingly mundane. But… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2016/02/vb2015-video-fault-our-stars/

Security vendors should embrace those hunting bugs in their products

When interviewed by the Risky Business podcast last week, VB Editor Martijn Grooten talked about the security of security products and said that many vendors are embracing the work done by Tavis Ormandy and others - as they should.
Security software is software too — and it will have flaws. Last week, I was interviewed for the Risky Business podcast. I really enjoyed the experience, not just because I've… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2016/02/security-vendors-should-embrace-those-hunting-bugs-their-products/

VB2015 paper: Effectively testing APT defences

Simon Edwards discusses how to test the potentially untestable.
Simon Edwards discusses how to test the potentially untestable. Like the term or loathe it, APTs have given rise to a new generation of security products that protect against these… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2016/01/paper-effectively-testing-apt-defences/

VB2015 paper: The ethics and perils of APT research: an unexpected transition into intelligence brokerage

Juan Andrés Guerrero-Saade discusses the perils and ethical conundrums that arise as the industry enters a new playing field.
Juan Andrés Guerrero-Saade discusses the perils and ethical conundrums that arise as the industry enters a new playing field. Many security researchers have been part of the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2016/01/paper-ethics-and-perils-apt-research-unexpected-transition-intelligence-brokerage/

VB2015 paper: Digital 'Bian Lian' (face changing): the Skeleton Key malware

Microsoft, Dell SecureWorks researchers analyse malware targeting Active Directory servers.
Microsoft, Dell SecureWorks researchers analyse malware targeting Active Directory servers. A year ago, researchers from Dell SecureWorks discovered a new kind of malware, dubbed… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2016/01/paper-digital-bian-lian-face-changing-skeleton-key-malware/

VB2015 video: Making a dent in Russian mobile banking phishing

Sebastian Porst explains what Google has done to protect users from phishing apps targeting Russian banks.
Sebastian Porst explains what Google has done to protect users from phishing apps targeting Russian banks. In the last few years, mobile malware has evolved from a mostly… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/12/video-making-dent-russian-mobile-banking-phishing/

The Internet of Bad Things, Observed

In his VB2015 keynote address, Ross Anderson described attacks against EMV cards.
In his VB2015 keynote address, Ross Anderson described attacks against EMV cards. The VB2015 opening keynote by Ross Anderson could hardly have been more timely. In his talk "The… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/11/internet-bad-things-observed/

VB2015 'Steganoprague' competition

Use your steganography-detection skills and win a pile of books.
Use your steganography-detection skills and win a pile of books. As VB2015 is about to begin, we announce the second part of the 'Steganoprague' competition. In this part, you will… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/09/steganoprague-competition/

Researchers seek ransomware samples for their generic solution

VB2015 presentation to include demonstration of technique against recent samples.
VB2015 presentation to include demonstration of technique against recent samples. 'The scary hack that's on the rise' is how Wired's Kim Zetter described ransomware in an overview… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/09/researchers-seek-ransomware-samples-their-generic-solution/

VB2015 last-minute papers announced

Ten talks covering hot research added to the VB2015 programme.
Ten talks covering hot research added to the VB2015 programme. There are just over two weeks to go until more than 400 security professionals descend on Prague for VB2015, the 25th… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/09/last-minute-papers-announced/

VB2015: some important information

Last-minute papers, steganography competition and foosball tournament.
Last-minute papers, steganography competition and foosball tournament. We're just a little over a month away from the beginning of VB2015, the 25th Virus Bulletin International… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/08/some-important-information/

VB2015 preview: advanced persistent threats

Several conference papers to deal with targeted attacks.
Several conference papers to deal with targeted attacks. There was a time when analyses of malware and viruses at the Virus Bulletin conference used the number of infections as a… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/08/preview-advanced-persistent-threats/

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