VB Blog

DMARC: an imperfect solution that can make a big difference

Posted by Martijn Grooten on Jul 24, 2017

US Senator Ron Wyden has asked the Department of Homeland Security to implement DMARC. Martijn Grooten looks at what difference this could make for phishing attacks impersonating the US federal governent.

Posted by Martijn Grooten on Jul 20, 2017

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.

Posted by Martijn Grooten on Jul 18, 2017

Password security advice focuses too much on password strength and too little on avoiding password reuse, Martijn Grooten argues.

Posted by Martijn Grooten on Jul 17, 2017

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.

Posted by Martijn Grooten on Jul 10, 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.

Posted by Martijn Grooten on Jul 7, 2017

Spreading 'FUD' in the wake of cyber-attacks is never a good idea. But it's even worse when this might be one of the attackers' implicit goals.

Posted by Martijn Grooten on Jul 7, 2017

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 world.

Posted by Martijn Grooten on Jul 4, 2017

Virus Bulletin has opened nominations for the fourth annual Péter Szőr Award, for the best piece of technical security research published between 1 July 2016 and 30 June 2017.

Posted by Martijn Grooten on Jul 3, 2017

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 spoke about BlackEnergy, providing an overview of the group's attacks. Today, we publish their paper.

Posted by Martijn Grooten on Jun 30, 2017

As WannaCry and (Not)Petya have shown, malware attacks can do a lot of damage. So is staying safe just a case of following good security advice?

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Is publishing your employees' email addresses such a big deal?

Beware of a false sense of security.
Beware of a false sense of security. Security blogger Graham Cluley points to hypocrisy in a KPMG press release in which it criticises FTSE 350 companies for 'leaking data that can… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/07/publishing-your-employees-email-addresses-such-big-deal/

Compromised Yahoo! accounts continue to spread Android malware

Problem likely to be on Yahoo!'s side.
Problem likely to be on Yahoo!'s side. In recent weeks, we have noticed an uptick in the amount of spam sent from compromised Yahoo! accounts; we have reasons to believe the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/06/compromised-yahoo-accounts-continue-spread-android-malware/

Vulnerabilities could trigger payload in emails upon receiving or opening

Flaws in IBM Notes and Exim/Dovecot easy to mitigate.
Flaws in IBM Notes and Exim/Dovecot easy to mitigate. Two recently discovered vulnerabilities in mail processing software could give an attacker access to a targeted system without… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/05/vulnerabilities-could-trigger-payload-emails-upon-receiving-or-opening/

Different focus on spam needed

What happens before the filter doesn't matter too much.
What happens before the filter doesn't matter too much. It is surprisingly difficult to get accurate figures for the amount of spam that is sent globally, yet everyone agrees that… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/04/different-focus-spam-needed/

Weak cryptography keys allow others to add valid DKIM signatures to fake emails

512-bit key cracked within 72 hours.
512-bit key cracked within 72 hours. A Florida-based mathematician has caused a stir in the email community by adding a valid DKIM signature for google.com to an email after… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2012/10/weak-cryptography-keys-allow-others-add-valid-dkim-signatures-fake-emails/

Cybercriminals offering service flooding email, phone and SMS

DDoS-type attack could seriously disrupt business.
DDoS-type attack could seriously disrupt business. A new service is being offered on underground forums where between 25,000 and 100,000 emails are being sent to an email account… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2012/07/cybercriminals-offering-service-flooding-email-phone-and-sms/

New RFC describes best practices for running DNS-based lists

DNSBL users advised to avoid those lists that charge for delisting.
DNSBL users advised to avoid those lists that charge for delisting. A new RFC document has been published that describes the best operational practices for the use of DNS-based… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2012/01/new-rfc-describes-best-practices-running-dns-based-lists/

New RFC grants DKIM improved status

Email signing method now 'Draft Standard'.
Email signing method now 'Draft Standard'. The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) has published a new RFC describing the DKIM protocol which sees its status advance from… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/09/new-rfc-grants-dkim-improved-status/

Windows Help Files used in targeted attacks

Files with code-executing properties attached to emails.
Files with code-executing properties attached to emails. Researchers at Symantec have discovered Windows Help Files being used in targeted attacks. Such help files, which use the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/09/windows-help-files-used-targeted-attacks/

Researchers find email used in RSA hack

Email with malicious attachment uploaded to online scanning service
Email with malicious attachment uploaded to online scanning service Researchers at F-Secure have managed to obtain the file used in the targeted attack against security vendor RSA… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/08/researchers-find-email-used-rsa-hack/

Hotmail beefs up security with stricter password policy

'My friend has been spammed' button also welcomed by experts.
'My friend has been spammed' button also welcomed by experts.Microsoft's free webmail service Hotmail has introduced some new features which should make it less likely for its… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/07/hotmail-beefs-security-stricter-password-policy/

'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/

ARF published as IETF standard

Abuse report format helps auto-handling of email complaints
Abuse report format helps auto-handling of email complaints ARF (Abuse Reporting Format) has been approved by the IETF as an Internet standard. ARF is a format used to send… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/09/arf-published-ietf-standard/

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VB Blog

DMARC: an imperfect solution that can make a big difference

Advanced and inept persistent threats to be discussed at VB2017

Password security is 1% choosing a half-decent password, 99% not using it anywhere else

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

Review: BSides Athens 2017

Let's not help attackers by spreading fear, uncertainty and doubt

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

Nominations opened for fourth Péter Szőr Award

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

Security advice in the wake of WannaCry and Not(Petya)