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 Nevertheless, it is time for everyone, and those working in security in particular, to move away from outdated hash functions.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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Search blog

Canada new hotbed for cybercriminal activity

Country's IP addresses less likely to be scrutinized.
Country's IP addresses less likely to be scrutinized. Security firm Websense has reported a significant increase in cybercrime originating in Canada. Hitherto, Canada and… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/05/canada-new-hotbed-cybercriminal-activity/

Cutwail botnet sent 1.7 trillion spam messages

Operators made several million through botnet.
Operators made several million through botnet. Researchers from The Last Line of Defense and universities in Bochum and Santa Barbara have shared some insight into the workings of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/03/cutwail-botnet-sent-1-7-trillion-spam-messages/

Cybercriminals frustrated with botnet trackers

Drastic measures discussed by users of online forum.
Drastic measures discussed by users of online forum. Russian cybercriminals are willing to go to great lengths to frustrate services that hinder botnets created with the ZeuS and… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/03/cybercriminals-frustrated-botnet-trackers/

'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/

18 months for member of m00p gang

Hacker receives prison sentence.
Hacker receives prison sentence. A Scottish man who pleaded guilty last month to 'causing unauthorized modification to the content of computers' as part of his involvement in the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/11/18-months-member-m00p-gang/

Success in anti-botnet operation

VB Seminar speaker describes how m00p gang member exploited computer users.
VB Seminar speaker describes how m00p gang member exploited computer users. A Scottish man pleaded guilty last month to 'causing unauthorized modification to the content of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/11/success-anti-botnet-operation/

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/

Webmail data leak hype deflated

Rumoured phishing explosion grabs headlines, reality much more mundane.
Rumoured phishing explosion grabs headlines, reality much more mundane. This week has seen some major news organisations picking up on the story of tens of thousands of sets of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/10/webmail-data-leak-hype-deflated/

Rogue AV claims to send money to environmental causes

'Green AV' best added to blacklist to avoid red faces.
'Green AV' best added to blacklist to avoid red faces. In an attempt to lure users into buying it, the rogue anti-malware product Green AV claims to send US$2 per purchased product… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/09/rogue-av-claims-send-money-environmental-causes/

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/

MS forms anti-Conficker alliance

Industry group to combine efforts, reward offered.
Industry group to combine efforts, reward offered.Microsoft has announced a collaborative effort to combat the Conficker (aka Downadup) botnet, the widespread infection making… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/02/ms-forms-anti-conficker-alliance/

MS report finds phishing revenues overhyped

Huge earnings may be myth, say researchers.
Huge earnings may be myth, say researchers. A report from Microsoft analysing the potential income of phishers claims that the amounts taken from duped victims of online scams may… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/01/ms-report-finds-phishing-revenues-overhyped/

UK to adopt Euro police hacking scheme

Remote search and cyber patrol plans approved.
Remote search and cyber patrol plans approved. The UK Home Office has signed up to a European initiative, proposed in November, to grant police forces greater powers to hack into… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/01/uk-adopt-euro-police-hacking-scheme/

Sarkozy bank account raided by cybercrooks

Hackers steal from French president - phish suspected.
Hackers steal from French president - phish suspected. French president Nicolas Sarkozy has had his funds stolen from his bank account, apparently after a phishing email tricked… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/10/sarkozy-bank-account-raided-cybercrooks/

Trojan-to-worm automation tool spotted

GUI gizmo adds extra spreading menace to any malware.
GUI gizmo adds extra spreading menace to any malware. Researchers at Panda have discovered a simple and colourful graphical application designed to add basic worm techniques to… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/06/trojan-worm-automation-tool-spotted/

Spyware gang sneaks millions from SA government

32 arrested but South Africa theft scam thought to be ongoing.
32 arrested but South Africa theft scam thought to be ongoing. An orchestrated series of spyware infiltrations has netted scammers over £12.8 million ($24.7 million) from the South… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/06/spyware-gang-sneaks-millions-sa-government/

41 months plus hefty fine for botherder

Cross-border operation brings adware crook to book.
Cross-border operation brings adware crook to book. A Florida man has been sentenced to 41 months in prison and fined $65,000 (approx. £32,000) after implanting bot software on… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/06/41-months-plus-hefty-fine-botherder/

File encryption blackmail scam returns

Kaspersky warns of new and nasty data-ransom trojan.
Kaspersky warns of new and nasty data-ransom trojan. Malware analysts at Kaspersky Lab have warned of the return of the 'Gpcoder' trojan, a nasty piece of 'ransomware' which… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/06/file-encryption-blackmail-scam-returns/

EU agency research advises sweeping security improvements

ISPs and developers should be held to account, says report.
ISPs and developers should be held to account, says report. A research paper commissioned by the European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA) has called for major… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/03/eu-agency-research-advises-sweeping-security-improvements/

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