VB Blog

VB2017 paper: Nine circles of Cerber

Posted by Martijn Grooten on Dec 15, 2017

Cerber is one of the major names in the world of ransomware, and last year, Check Point released a decryption service for the malware. Today, we publish a VB2017 paper by Check Point's Stanislav Skuratovich describing how the Cerber decryption tool worked; we have also uploaded the video of the presentation of this paper, by Or Eshed and Yaniv Balmas.

Posted by Martijn Grooten on Dec 14, 2017

Dutch security firm Fox-IT deserves praise for being open about an attack on its client network. There are some important lessons to be learned about DNS security from its post-mortem.

Posted by Martijn Grooten on Dec 14, 2017

For this week's Throwback Thursday, we look back at the video of a talk Level 3's Mike Benjamin gave at VB2016 in Denver, on BGP and BGP hijacks.

Posted by Martijn Grooten on Dec 13, 2017

Citizen Lab's Security Planner helps you improve your online safety, based on the specific threats you are facing.

Posted by Martijn Grooten on Dec 11, 2017

Today, we publish the video of the VB2017 presentation by Avast researcher Jakub Kroustek and his former colleague Előd Kironský, now at ESET, who told the story of Spora, one of of the most prominent ransomware families of 2017.

Posted by Martijn Grooten on Dec 7, 2017

During recent research, Cisco Talos researchers observed the ways in which APT actors are evolving and how a reconnaissance phase is included in the infection vector in order to protect valuable zero-day exploits or malware frameworks. At VB2017 in Madrid, two of those researchers, Paul Rascagneres and Warren Mercer, presented a paper detailing five case studies that demonstrate how the infection vector is evolving. Today we publish both Paul and Warren's paper and the recording of their presentation.

Posted by Martijn Grooten on Dec 1, 2017

At VB2017 in Madrid, CERT Poland researchers Maciej Kotowicz and Jarosław Jedynak presented a paper detailing their low-level analysis of five spam botnets. Today we publish their full paper.

Posted by Martijn Grooten on Nov 30, 2017

We look back at the VB2016 presentation by Righard Zwienenberg (ESET) and Luis Corrons (Panda Security), in which they discussed various issues relating to anti-malware testing.

Posted by Martijn Grooten on Nov 30, 2017

As an independent body in the IT security industry, Virus Bulletin is in an ideal position to act as a global source of information both about jobs currently available in the field and about those candidates currently seeking to start or progress their career in the industry - which is why we have relaunched the VB Security Jobs Market.

Posted by Martijn Grooten on Nov 29, 2017

At VB2017 in Madrid, macOS malware researcher Patrick Wardle presented the details of a specific piece of Mac malware, FruitFly, which he analysed through a custom C&C server - a technique that will also be of interest for researchers of malware on other platforms. Today we publish both Patrick's paper and the recording of his presentation.

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New paper: Nexus Android banking botnet – compromising C&C panels and dissecting mobile AppInjects

In a new paper, researchers Aditya K Sood and Rohit Bansal provide details of a security vulnerability in the Nexus Android botnet C&C panel that was exploited in order to gather threat intelligence, and present a model of mobile AppInjects.
Nexus Android banking botnet – compromising C&C panels and dissecting mobile AppInjects Read the paper (HTML) Download the paper (PDF) Android botnets are a formidable… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2023/10/new-paper-nexus-android-banking-botnet-compromising-cc-panels-and-dissecting-mobile-appinjects/

There is no evidence in-the-wild malware is using Meltdown or Spectre

Reports of malware using the Meltdown or Spectre attacks are likely based on proof-of-concept code rather than files written for a malicious purpose.
Almost a month after the Meltdown and Spectre attacks against various CPUs were discovered and revealed to the public, there have been reports of the existence of malware that… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2018/02/there-no-evidence-wild-malware-using-meltdown-or-spectre/

Vulnerability disclosure and botnet takedown not to be hindered by Wassenaar Arrangement

Clarification in the language of the Wassenaar Arrangement, a multilateral export control regime for conventional arms and dual-use goods and technologies, means those involved in vulnerability disclosure or botnet takedown won't have to worry about acqui…
I have never been too keen on making comparisons between (advanced) cyber attacks and conventional war, as such comparisons tend to ignore the enormous human cost that comes with… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/12/vulnerability-disclosure-and-botnet-takedown-not-be-hindered-wassenaar-arrangement/

Tizi Android malware highlights the importance of security patches for high-risk users

Researchers from Google have taken down 'Tizi', an Android malware family, that used nine already patched vulnerabilities to obtain root on infected devices.
A well-known security researcher once said: "if you purposely choose Android you are either Poor, Cheap, or really hate Apple." Android has a bad reputation in security… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/11/tizi-android-malware-highlights-importance-security-patches-high-risk-users/

Vulnerabilities play only a tiny role in the security risks that come with mobile phones

Both bad news (all devices were pwnd) and good news (pwning is increasingly difficult) came from the most recent mobile Pwn2Own competition. But the practical security risks that come with using mobile phones have little to do with vulnerabilities.
Last week saw yet another successful edition of Mobile Pwn2Own, the contest in which participants are challenged to attack fully patched mobile devices using previously unknown… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/11/vulnerabilities-play-only-tiny-role-security-risks-come-mobile-phones/

Patching is important even when it only shows the maturity of your security process

A lot of vulnerabilities that are discovered are never exploited in the wild. It is still important to patch them though.
Sometimes a Tweet says more than a 50-minute conference presentation: Bad TLS as an externally measurable metric for whether an organisation has a mature security process,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/09/patching-important-even-when-it-only-shows-maturity-your-security-process/

Is CVE-2017-0199 the new CVE-2012-0158?

After five years of exploitation in a wide variety of attacks, CVE-2012-0158 may have found a successor in CVE-2017-0199, which is taking the Office exploit scene by storm.
There are two good reasons not to be concerned about CVE-2012-0158, an RTF handling vulnerability in Microsoft Office. First, the vulnerability was patched more than five years… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/06/cve-2017-0199-new-cve-2012-0158/

Paper: The journey and evolution of God Mode in 2016: CVE-2016-0189

In a new paper published by Virus Bulletin, FireEye researchers Ankit Anubhav and Manish Sardiwal analyse the 'God Mode' vulnerability CVE-2016-0189 in Microsoft Internet Explorer.
While avoiding the use of Flash is good advice for helping to fend off exploit kits, some of the vulnerabilities exploited by these kits actually target the browsers themselves.… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/01/paper-journey-and-evolution-god-mode-2016-cve-2016-0189/

It's fine for vulnerabilities to have names — we just need not to take them too seriously

The PR campaign around the Badlock vulnerability backfired when it turned out that the vulnerability wasn't as serious as had been suggested. But naming vulnerabilities can actually be helpful and certainly shouldn't hurt.
“What's in a name? That which we call Heartbleed by any other name would be just as malicious.” — William Shakespeare (paraphrased) When OpenSSL vulnerability… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2016/04/it-fine-vulnerabilities-have-names-we-just-need-not-take-them-too-seriously/

Paper: All Your Meetings Are Belong to Us: Remote Code Execution in Apache OpenMeetings

Security researcher Andreas Lindh recently found a vulnerability in Apache OpenMeetings that could allow remote code execution on a vulnerable server. Andreas reported the vulnerability to the OpenMeetings developers and, once it had been patched, he wrot…
The rise of bug bounties in recent years has created an incentive for hackers to hunt for vulnerabilities in a lot of software and services. But what about those software projects… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2016/03/paper-all-your-meetings-are-belong-us-remote-code-execution-apache-openmeetings/

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/

File-stealing vulnerability found in Firefox PDF reader

Both Windows and Linux users actively being targeted.
Both Windows and Linux users actively being targeted. If, like me, you are suffering from vulnerability fatigue after so many flaws and weaknesses having been disclosed in Las… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/08/file-stealing-vulnerability-found-firefox-pdf-reader/

Stagefright vulnerability leaves 950 million Android devices vulnerable to remote code execution

The operating system has been patched, but it is unclear whether users will receive those patches.
The operating system has been patched, but it is unclear whether users will receive those patches. Researchers at mobile security firm Zimperium have discovered a remote code… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/07/stagefright-vulnerability-leaves-950-million-android-devices-vulnerable-remote-code-execution/

Weak keys and prime reuse make Diffie-Hellman implementations vulnerable

'Logjam' attack possibly used by the NSA to decrypt VPN traffic.
'Logjam' attack possibly used by the NSA to decrypt VPN traffic. A group of researchers have discovered a number of vulnerabilities in the way the Diffie-Hellman key exchange… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/05/weak-keys-and-prime-reuse-make-diffie-hellman-implementations-vulnerable/

POODLE is the brown M&Ms of security

Just because it won't be exploited, doesn't mean you shouldn't patch it.
Just because it won't be exploited, doesn't mean you shouldn't patch it. There is a famous story about the rock band Van Halen whose lists of requirements when performing a show… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/04/poodle-brown-m-amp-ms-security/

The ghost of Stuxnet past

Microsoft patches .LNK vulnerability after 2010 patch was found to be incomplete.
Microsoft patches .LNK vulnerability after 2010 patch was found to be incomplete. Mention Stuxnet and you'll have many a security researcher's attention. The worm, which was… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/03/ghost-stuxnet-past/

FREAK attack takes HTTPS connections back to 1990s security

Golden keys from the (first) crypto wars have come back to haunt us.
Golden keys from the (first) crypto wars have come back to haunt us. When a web client makes a secure connection to a web server (using HTTPS), it starts by sending a 'Hello'… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/03/freak-attack-takes-https-connections-back-1990s-security/

Paper: Script in a lossy stream

Dénes Óvári explains how to store code in lossily compressed JPEG data.
Dénes Óvári explains how to store code in lossily compressed JPEG data. Malformed PDFs have become a common way to deliver malware. Naturally, when this started to happen,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/03/paper-script-lossy-stream/

Almost 50% increase in reported vulnerabilities as non-Windows operating systems lead the table

Each discovered vulnerability is actually a good news story.
Each discovered vulnerability is actually a good news story. Last week, security firm GFI published some research in which it looked at the number of vulnerabilities reported last… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/02/almost-50-increase-reported-vulnerabilities-non-windows-operating-systems-lead-table/

Google relaxes disclosure policy following criticism

Grace period added for vulnerabilities that are about to be patched.
Grace period added for vulnerabilities that are about to be patched. Last year, Google announced a new disclosure policy, where details of a vulnerability discovered by the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/02/google-relaxes-disclosure-policy-following-criticism/

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