VB Blog

Spam is mostly noise and that makes measuring it very difficult

Posted by Martijn Grooten on Sep 3, 2018

A brief analysis by Recorded Future suggests that the volume of spam and new domain registrations hasn't increased since the GDPR came into effect.

Posted by Martijn Grooten on Aug 29, 2018

VB is thrilled to announce the programme of the first International Threat Intelligence Summit that will form an integral part of the VB2018 conference programme.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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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VB2017 call for last-minute papers opened

Today, we open the call for last-minute papers for VB2017. Submit before 3 September to have your abstract considered for one of the ten slots reserved for 'hot' research.
UPDATE 4 Sept 2017: Please note that the call for last-minute papers for VB2017 has now closed. Virus Bulletin has opened the call for last-minute papers for VB2017. The… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/07/vb2017-call-last-minute-papers-opened/

Five reasons to come to VB2017 in Madrid

We're not ones to make bold claims about our conference, and we suggest you ask past attendees for their opinion, but here are five reasons why we think you should come to VB2017 in Madrid.
I regularly use this blog to add nuance to bold claims about dangerous vulnerabilities or impressive claims about security solutions – something that I think befits an independent… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/07/five-reasons-come-vb2017-madrid/

DMARC: an imperfect solution that can make a big difference

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.
US Senator Ron Wyden has written a letter (pdf) to the Department of Homeland Security, urging the US government to implement DMARC to "ensure hackers cannot send emails that… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/07/dmarc-imperfect-solution-can-make-big-difference/

Advanced and inept persistent threats to be discussed at VB2017

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.
Only a few years ago, "APT" (advanced persistent threat) was a buzzword mostly heard being bandied around at security exhibitions to sell even more advanced technology to prevent,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/07/advanced-and-inept-persistent-threats-be-discussed-vb2017/

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

Password security advice focuses too much on password strength and too little on avoiding password reuse, Martijn Grooten argues.
It is a truth generally acknowledged that there is no such thing as absolute security. Security is always a compromise with usability, and good security is about finding the right… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/07/password-security-1-choosing-half-decent-password-99-not-using-it-anywhere-else/

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

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.
While we hope that you have already circled the dates of 4-6 October 2017 in your agendas, and that you will join us and security experts from around the world for VB2017 in Spain… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/07/save-dates-vb2018-take-place-3-5-october-2018/

Review: BSides Athens 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.
BSides London has been a regular fixture on the Virus Bulletin agenda for the past few years, but its international audience (thanks to the event being held in parallel with… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/07/review-bsides-athens-2017/

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

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.
A week and a half after the outbreak of (Not)Petya, we are still not 100% certain about the motivation of the attackers. Was it a (failed) attempt to extort money from a large… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/07/lets-not-help-attackers-spreading-fear-uncertainty-and-doubt/

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

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 wor…
Next-gen firewalls, next-gen anti-virus. At Virus Bulletin, we follow the 'next-gen' trends with interest, if only because behind the marketing there is often very interesting… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/07/calling-next-gen-security-researchers-student-discount-vb2017-announced/

Nominations opened for fourth Péter Szőr Award

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.
Virus Bulletin is seeking nominations for the fourth annual Péter Szőr Award. The award was inaugurated during the VB2014 conference, in honour of late security researcher and… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/07/nominations-opened-fourth-peter-szor-award/

July

https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/07/

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

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 s…
In a blog post published on Friday, ESET researcher Anton Cherepanov provides evidence linking last week's (Not)Petya attacks to the BlackEnergy group; Kaspersky researchers also… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/07/vb2016-paper-blackenergy-what-we-really-know-about-notorious-cyber-attacks/

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

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?
The recent outbreaks of WannaCry and (Not)Petya have left many users and organizations understandably confused about what to do and how to fend off such attacks. Thankfully,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/06/security-advice-wake-wannacry-and-notpetya/

48 hours after initial reports, many mysteries remain around the latest ransomware/wiper threat

Whether you call it Petya, NotPetya, Nyetya or Petna, there are still many mysteries surrounding the malware that has been causing havoc around the world.
"What's in a name? that which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet" Shakespeare's philosophising can equally be applied to malware, and whether you call it… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/06/48-hours-after-initial-reports-many-mysteries-around-latest-ransomwarewiper-threat-remain/

VB2017 Early Bird discount to expire this week

This week, the Early Bird discount for VB2017 comes to an end - so, for a 10% saving on the cost of full price registration, make sure you register now!
"Hundreds of businesses, both large and small, have suffered from the handiwork of the virus writers. It is now clear that a sabotage mentality exists and new computer viruses… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/06/vb2017-early-bird-discount-expire-week/

VB2016 paper: Steam stealers: it's all fun and games until someone's account gets hijacked

Last year, Kaspersky Lab researcher Santiago Pontiroli and PwC's Bart Parys presented a VB2016 paper analysing the malicious threats faced by users of the Steam online gaming platform, and highlighting how organized criminals are making money with these p…
The online games market is huge, and the Steam platform is a huge player in that market. Users registered on the Steam platform use their credit cards to buy content, and… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/06/vb2016-paper-steam-stealers-its-all-fun-and-games-until-someones-account-gets-hijacked/

Research paper shows it may be possible to distinguish malware traffic using TLS

Researchers at Cisco have published a paper describing how it may be possible to use machine learning to distinguish malware command-and-control traffic using TLS from regular enterprise traffic, and to classify malware families based on their encrypted C…
Researchers at Cisco have published a paper (PDF) describing how it may be possible to use machine learning to distinguish malware command-and-control (C&C) traffic using TLS from… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/06/research-paper-shows-it-may-be-possible-distinguish-malware-traffic-using-tls/

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/

Review: BSides London 2017

Virus Bulletin was a proud sponsor of BSides London 2017 - Martijn Grooten reports on a great event.
This month, for the first time in its 28-year history, Virus Bulletin became the sponsor of another industry conference: BSides London. I have to admit to having been more than a… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/06/review-bsides-london-2017/

VB2017: one of the most international security conferences

It is well known that the problem of cybersecurity is a global one that affects users worldwide - but it's also one that has some unique local flavours. With speakers representing at least 24 countries, VB2017 is one of the most international security con…
The 40 talks confirmed thus far for the VB2017 conference programme will be delivered by speakers that are based in 18 different countries across five continents. If you also… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/06/vb2017-one-most-international-security-conferences/

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