VB Blog

VB2018 paper: Anatomy of an attack: detecting and defeating CRASHOVERRIDE

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Mar 5, 2019

In December 2016, the CRASHOVERRIDE malware framework was used to cause a blackout in Ukraine. At VB2018 in Montreal, Dragos researcher Joe Slowik presented a detailed paper on the framework, explaining how the malware works and how it targets various protocols used to operate the electric grid. Today we publish both Joe's paper and the recording of his presentation.

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VB2018 presentation: Levelling up: why sharing threat intelligence makes you more competitive

Posted by   Helen Martin on   Mar 1, 2019

In a presentation at VB2018, Michael Daniel, President and CEO of the Cyber Threat Alliance, outlined exactly how threat sharing strengthens a company's competitive advantage. Today we release the recording of his presentation.

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The malspam security products miss: Emotet, Ursnif, and a spammer's blunder

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Feb 25, 2019

The set-up of the VBSpam test lab gives us a unique insight into the kinds of emails that are more likely to bypass email filters. This week we look at the malspam that was missed: a very international email with a link serving Emotet, an Italian Ursnif campaign with a password-protected ZIP and an email to which a clumsy spammer had attached a list of email addresses rather than a payload.

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VB2018 paper: The modality of mortality in domain names

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Feb 22, 2019

Domains play a crucial role in most cyber attacks, from the very advanced to the very mundane. Today, we publish a VB2018 paper by Paul Vixie (Farsight Security) who undertook the first systematic study into the lifetimes of newly registered domains.

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VB2018 paper: Analysing compiled binaries using logic

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Feb 20, 2019

Constraint programming is a lesser-known technique that is becoming increasingly popular among malware analysts. In a paper presented at VB2018 Thaís Moreira Hamasaki presented an overview of the technique and explained how it can be applied to the analysis of (potentially) malicious binaries. Today, we publish both Thaís' paper and the video of her presentation.

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Virus Bulletin encourages experienced speakers and newcomers alike to submit proposals for VB2019

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Feb 19, 2019

With a little less than a month before the deadline of the call for papers for VB2019, Virus Bulletin encourages submissions from experienced speakers and newcomers alike.

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VB2018 paper: Internet balkanization: why are we raising borders online?

Posted by   Helen Martin on   Feb 13, 2019

At VB2018 in Montreal, Ixia researcher Stefan Tanase presented a thought-provoking paper on the current state of the Internet and the worrying tendency towards raising borders and restricting the flow of information. Today we publish both his paper and the recording of his presentation.

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The malspam security products miss: banking and email phishing, Emotet and Bushaloader

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Feb 11, 2019

The set-up of the VBSpam test lab gives us a unique insight into the kinds of emails that are more likely to bypass email filters. This week we look at the malspam that was missed: banking and email phishing, Emotet and Bushaloader.

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VB2018 paper: Where have all the good hires gone?

Posted by   Helen Martin on   Feb 8, 2019

The cybersecurity skills gap has been described as one of the biggest challenges facing IT leaders today. At VB2018 in Montreal, ESET's Lysa Myers outlined some of the things the industry can do to help address the problem. Today we publish Lysa's paper and the recording of her presentation.

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Preview: Nullcon 2019

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Feb 5, 2019

We look forward the Nullcon 2019 conference in Goa, India, at which VB Editor Martijn Grooten will give a talk on the state of malware.

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Search blog

Ebury and Mayhem server malware families still active

Ebury and Mayhem, two families of Linux server malware, about which VB published papers back in 2014, are still active and have received recent updates.
Whether it is to send spam or to redirect web traffic to malicious payloads, compromised (Linux) web servers are the glue in many a malware campaign. Two such networks of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/10/ebury-and-mayhem-server-malware-families-still-active/

Malicious CCleaner update points to a major weakness in our infrastructure

Researchers from Cisco Talos have found that a recent version of the widely used CCleaner tool installed malware on the machine.
For the security community, 2017 might well be called the year of the update: two of the biggest security stories – the WannaCry outbreak and the Equifax breach – involved… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/09/malicious-ccleaner-update-points-major-weakness-our-infrastructure/

VB2014 preview: two papers on Linux server malware

Researchers from ESET, Yandex and Symantec look at emerging malware trend.
Researchers from ESET, Yandex and Symantec look at emerging malware trend.In the weeks running up to VB2014 (the 24th Virus Bulletin International Conference), we are looking at… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2014/09/preview-two-papers-linux-server-malware/

More than two million home routers have 'wide open backdoor'

Default password makes vulnerability easy to exploit.
Default password makes vulnerability easy to exploit. Researchers at Trend Micro have discovered an easy-to-exploit backdoor in routers from Chinese manufacturer Netcore, that… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2014/08/more-two-million-home-routers-have-wide-open-backdoor/

'Son of Stuxnet' trojan found

'Duqu' used in targeted attacks to steal specific information.
'Duqu' used in targeted attacks to steal specific information. Researchers at both Symantec and McAfee have discovered a new Remote Access Trojan (RAT) with strong links to Stuxnet… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/10/son-stuxnet-trojan-found/

Fake codec trojan disables anti-virus software

Victim tricked into believing security software still active.
Victim tricked into believing security software still active. A new trojan, discovered by researchers at ESET, spreads itself via fake codecs, then disables running anti-virus… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/08/fake-codec-trojan-disables-anti-virus-software/

Hundreds of legitimate websites being hacked into

New mass infection leaves security researchers puzzled.
New mass infection leaves security researchers puzzled. Web security company ScanSafe has reported a new mass infection of websites, which it claims accounts for 15% of the web… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/01/hundreds-legitimate-websites-being-hacked/

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