VB Blog

VB2018 preview: Explain Ethereum smart contract hacking like I am five

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Aug 28, 2018

Designing smart contracts is hard: we preview a VB2018 paper on the blockchain-based platform Ethereum, that describes both how the technology works and how a number of security issues inherent to the platform have led to various high-profile and often very costly hacks.

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VB2017 video: Client Maximus raises the bar

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Aug 27, 2018

At VB2017, IBM Trusteer researcher Omer Agmon, presented a 'last-minute' paper in which he analysed the Client Maximum trojan, which targets Brazilian users of online banking. Today, we release the recording of his presentation.

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The security industry is genuinely willing to help you do good work

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Aug 21, 2018

For those organizations working for the public good, security vendors are often willing to offer their services for free, or for very low cost.

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VB2018 preview: Unpacking the packed unpacker: reversing an Android anti-analysis library

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Aug 17, 2018

At VB2018, Google researcher Maddie Stone will present an analysis of the multi-layered 'WeddingCake' anti-analysis library used by many Android malware families.

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VB2018 preview: From drive-by download to drive-by mining

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Aug 15, 2018

At VB2018, Malwarebytes researcher Jérôme Segura will discuss the rise of drive-by cryptocurrency mining, explaining how it works and putting it in the broader context of changes in the cybercrime landscape.

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Red Eyes threat group targets North Korean defectors

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Aug 14, 2018

A research paper by AhnLab researcher Minseok Cha looks at the activities of the Red Eyes threat group (also known as Group 123 and APT 37), whose targets include North Korean defectors, as well as journalists and human rights defenders focused on North Korea.

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VB announces Threat Intelligence Summit to take place during VB2018

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Aug 9, 2018

We are very excited to announce a special summit, as part of VB2018, that will be dedicated to all aspects of threat intelligence.

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VB2018 Small Talk: An industry approach for unwanted software criteria and clean requirements

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Aug 7, 2018

An industry approach for defining and detecting unwanted software to be presented and discussed at the Virus Bulletin conference.

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VB2018 call for last-minute papers opened

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jul 27, 2018

The call for last-minute papers for VB2018 is now open. Submit before 2 September to have your abstract considered for one of the nine slots reserved for 'hot' research.

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VB2017 paper and update: Browser attack points still abused by banking trojans

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jul 25, 2018

At VB2017, ESET researchers Peter Kálnai and Michal Poslušný looked at how banking malware interacts with browsers. Today we publish their paper, share the video of their presentation, and also publish a guest blog post from Peter, in which he summarises the recent developments in this space.

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Adobe issues patch for yet another Flash Player zero-day

CVE-2015-0313 used in the wild as long ago as December.
CVE-2015-0313 used in the wild as long ago as December. Adobe has just issued an out-of-band patch for its Flash Player to fix a zero-day vulnerability that is actively being… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/02/adobe-issues-patch-yet-another-flash-player-zero-day/

Linux systems affected by 'GHOST' vulnerability

Proof-of-concept email gives remote access to Exim mail server.
Proof-of-concept email gives remote access to Exim mail server. If you administer Linux-based systems, you'd better schedule some time for patching, as a serious buffer overflow… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/01/linux-systems-affected-ghost-vulnerability/

Microsoft no longer publishes advance notifications for its Patch Tuesdays

Company unhappy with Google going full disclosure on privilege escalation vulnerability.
Company unhappy with Google going full disclosure on privilege escalation vulnerability. Tomorrow is the second Tuesday of the month and, as most people reading this blog will… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/01/microsoft-no-longer-publishes-advance-notifications-its-patch-tuesdays/

CVE-2012-0158 continues to be used in targeted attacks

30-month old vulnerability still a popular way to infect systems.
30-month old vulnerability still a popular way to infect systems. If all you have to worry about are zero-day vulnerabilities, you have got things pretty well sorted. Although it… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2014/10/cve-2012-0158-continues-be-used-targeted-attacks/

VB2014 preview: keynote and closing panel

Vulnerability disclosure one of the hottest issues in security.
Vulnerability disclosure one of the hottest issues in security. In the proceedings of the 24th Virus Bulletin conference, the words 'vulnerabilty' and 'vulnerabilities' occur more… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2014/09/preview-keynote-and-closing-panel/

VB2014 preview: The three levels of exploit testing

Richard Ford and Marco Carvalho present an idea for how to test products that claim to detect the unknown.
Richard Ford and Marco Carvalho present an idea for how to test products that claim to detect the unknown.In the weeks running up to VB2014 (the 24th Virus Bulletin International… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2014/09/preview-three-levels-exploit-testing/

Google's Project Zero to hunt for zero-days

Bugs to be reported to the vendor only, and to become public once patched.
Bugs to be reported to the vendor only, and to become public once patched.Google has created a new team, called Project Zero, whose task is to find vulnerabilities in any kind of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2014/07/google-s-project-zero-hunt-zero-days/

A week of Heartbleed

OpenSSL vulnerability has kept the security community busy.
OpenSSL vulnerability has kept the security community busy. The 'Heartbleed' vulnerability has kept everyone on their toes over the last week or so - hitting the mainstream media,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2014/04/week-heartbleed/

OpenSSL vulnerability lets attackers quietly steal servers' private keys

Security firm advises regenerating keys and replacing certificates on vulnerable servers.
Security firm advises regenerating keys and replacing certificates on vulnerable servers. A very serious vulnerability in OpenSSL has caused panic among network administrators:… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2014/04/openssl-vulnerability-lets-attackers-quietly-steal-servers-private-keys/

Privilege escalation vulnerability targets Windows XP and Server 2003

Vulnerability being used in the wild in combination with exploit of patched Adobe Reader vulnerability.
Vulnerability being used in the wild in combination with exploit of patched Adobe Reader vulnerability. Researchers at FireEye have discovered a new privilege escalation… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/11/privilege-escalation-vulnerability-targets-windows-xp-and-server-2003/

Good and bad news for victims of targeted attacks against Microsoft products

Bug bounty program extended; TIFF zero-day used in the wild.
Bug bounty program extended; TIFF zero-day used in the wild. This week, Microsoft has good news and bad news for those targeted by zero-day exploits in its products. The bad… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/11/good-and-bad-news-victims-targeted-attacks-against-microsoft-products/

Ruby on Rails vulnerability exploited in the wild

Code executed on web servers to cause them to join IRC botnet.
Code executed on web servers to cause them to join IRC botnet. A critical vulnerability in Ruby on Rails is currently being exploited to make web servers join an IRC botnet, Ars… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/05/ruby-rails-vulnerability-exploited-wild/

Microsoft offers fix-it for IE 8 zero-day

CVE-2013-1347 used in watering hole attacks.
CVE-2013-1347 used in watering hole attacks. Following this weekend's discovery of a new zero-day vulnerability in version 8 of Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser, the company… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/05/microsoft-offers-fix-it-ie-8-zero-day/

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/

Avast launches bug bounty programme

Security firm offers reward for info on bugs.
Security firm offers reward for info on bugs. Security firm Avast Software, producer of the popular avast! free anti-virus solution, has announced a bug bounty programme to… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/01/avast-launches-bug-bounty-programme/

Do we need stronger email addresses?

Skype vulnerability allowed for account hijacking using only email address.
Skype vulnerability allowed for account hijacking using only email address. A worryingly trivial vulnerability in VoIP service Skype became public this morning, which allowed… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2012/11/do-we-need-stronger-email-addresses/

Microsoft releases advisory offering workarounds for IE vulnerability

German government advises users to use alternative browser.
German government advises users to use alternative browser.Microsoft has released a security advisory to address the zero-day vulnerability in its Internet Explorer browser that we… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2012/09/microsoft-releases-advisory-offering-workarounds-ie-vulnerability/

Internet Explorer zero-day used in the wild

Dropped PoisonIvy trojan linked to 'Nitro' attacks.
Dropped PoisonIvy trojan linked to 'Nitro' attacks. Security researcher Eric Romang has discovered a new zero-day vulnerability in Internet Explorer that is currently being used in… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2012/09/internet-explorer-zero-day-used-wild/

From spear phishing to watering holes

Symantec reports increase in 'watering hole attacks'.
Symantec reports increase in 'watering hole attacks'. Imagine that for some reason you wanted to gain access to my computer. One thing you could do is send me an email with some… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2012/09/spear-phishing-watering-holes/

Vulnerability turns McAfee's anti-malware solution into open relay

Flaw allows for spam to be sent through customers' PCs.
Flaw allows for spam to be sent through customers' PCs. A vulnerability discovered in McAfee's SaaS for Total Protection, the company's hosted anti-malware solution, effectively… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2012/01/vulnerability-turns-mcafee-s-anti-malware-solution-open-relay/

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