VB Blog

Taiwanese Trojan writer arrested

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   May 28, 2004

Suspect not a teenager for a change.

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Legislation: NZ makes a move

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   May 27, 2004

New Zealand government moves toward anti-spam legislation

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German government spammed

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   May 27, 2004

Government email systems overwhelmed

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Cajun spammer tells it like it is

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   May 23, 2004

Straight talking spammer

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Spend, spend, spend for Symantec

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   May 20, 2004

Anti-spam company to become AV vendor's latest purchase

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No rest for German police

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   May 13, 2004

Arrest of suspected Sasser author, arrest of suspected Phatbot author and questioning of five more suspects - all within the space of 7 days.

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Buying and selling

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   May 13, 2004

Trend buys back shares, Sybari prepares to sell

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SpamCop at receiving end of a restraining order

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   May 12, 2004

Venerable spam reporting outfit SpamCop has had a restraining order granted against it on behalf of alleged spammer OptInRealBig.com.

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Law and order

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   May 6, 2004

Spamming set to become illegal in the Netherlands and other legislative news...

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Figures and fluctuations

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   May 6, 2004

Dips, increases and the cost of dealing with spam

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VB2017 Call for Papers: frequently asked questions

The call for papers for VB2017, which takes place 4 to 6 October in Madrid, Spain, is currently open. We're always on the look out for new speakers and new content, so to help anyone who's unfamiliar with the VB conference, we've prepared a list of answe…
The call for papers for VB2017, the 27th Virus Bulletin International Conference, which takes place 4 to 6 October in Madrid, Spain, is currently open. We've had some excellent… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/03/vb2017-call-papers-frequently-asked-questions/

Throwback Thursday: Michelangelo - Graffiti Not Art

This week marked the 25th anniversary of the trigger date of the infamous Michelangelo virus. In January 1992, VB published an analysis of the boot sector virus that captured the imagination of the press and kicked up a media storm.
This week marked the 25th anniversary of the Michelangelo virus. The boot sector virus was designed to trigger on 6 March 1992, on which date it would override all of the data… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/03/throwback-thursday-michelangelo-graffiti-not-art/

How are you defending your network? Come and tell us at VB2017!

Is it your job to defend your company’s network? Are you defending a government’s systems? Do you help secure the devices used by activists operating in less open societies? Do you work with abuse victims targeted by spyware? Share your experiences with t…
Last night, this Tweet caught my attention: The majority of “security research” presented at conferences is really vulnerability research. Far too few new ideas about… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/03/how-are-you-defending-your-network-come-and-tell-us-vb2017/

Quick impressions from BSides Budapest

At Virus Bulletin, we love the BSides concept and we have attended several of the BSides events around the world. So when Peter Karsai, who is soon to join the VB team, offered to write about his experience at BSides Budapest, we jumped at the chance to p…
At Virus Bulletin, we love the BSides concept and we have attended several of the BSides events around the world. So when Peter Karsai, who is soon to join the VB team, offered to… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/03/quick-impressions-bsides-budapest/

First sponsors of VB2017 announced

We are excited to announce the first five sponsors of VB2017, companies based in Europe, Asia and North America.
We are proud of the fact that the Virus Bulletin Conference is one of the industry's most international security conferences, with speakers and attendees coming together from all… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/03/first-sponsors-vb2017-announced/

Security products and HTTPS: let's do it better

A recent paper showed that many HTTPS-intercepting security solutions have implemented TLS rather poorly. Does that mean we should avoid such solutions altogether?
It is one of the most hotly discussed topics in the security community: is it acceptable for a security product to intercept encrypted HTTP communication (HTTPS) to analyse its… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/02/security-products-and-https-lets-do-it-better/

The SHA-1 hashing algorithm has been 'shattered'

Researchers from Google and CWI Amsterdam have created the first known collision of the SHA-1 hashing algorithm, making a very strong case to ditch it.
Researchers from Google and CWI Amsterdam have created the first publicly known SHA-1 collision. SHA-1 is a hashing algorithm: it turns data of arbitrary size (such as a string… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/02/sha-1-hashing-algorithm-has-been-shattered/

Throwback Thursday: Once a researcher...

VB was saddened to learn this week of the passing of one of the pioneers of the AV industry, Ross Greenberg. This Throwback Thursday we look back at an interview with Ross in November 1995.
VB was saddened to learn this week of the passing of one of the pioneers of the AV industry, Ross M. Greenberg.   Ross Greenberg, author of Flushot, Virex PC, and… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/02/throwback-thursday-once-researcher/

VB2017: What is happening in the threat landscape and what are we doing against it? Submit a proposal in the VB2017 CFP!

Have you analysed a new online threat? Do you know a new way to defend against such threats? Then submit an abstract in the CFP for VB2017!
There are four weeks (minus one day) until the Call for Papers for VB2017 closes. The Virus Bulletin International Conference is one of the longest running and most prestigious… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/02/vb2017-what-happening-and-what-are-we-doing-against-it-submit-now-cfp/

VB2016 paper: APT reports and OPSEC evolution, or: these are not the APT reports you are looking for

APT reports are great for gaining an understanding of how advanced attack groups operate - however, they can also provide free QA for the threat actors. Today, we publish a VB2016 paper by Gadi Evron (Cymmetria) and Inbar Raz (Perimeter X), who discuss wh…
Ever since Mandiant released its APT1 report four years ago, reports on advanced attack groups have been an important fixture in the security industry. These reports are great for… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/02/vb2016-paper-apt-reports-and-opsec-evolution-or-these-are-not-apt-reports-you-are-looking/

Security for your ears: recommended infosec podcasts

Industry veteran Mikko Hyppönen recently urged would-be security researchers to ditch their favourite pop music and listen to security podcasts on their commute to work instead. Virus Bulletin Editor Martijn Grooten shares his favourite security podcasts.
"Don't waste your commute listening to pop music. Listen to infosec lectures and podcasts." Industry veteran Mikko Hyppönen recently shared some useful advice for those wanting to… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/02/security-podcasts-worth-listening/

VB2016 video: Getting duped: piggybacking on webcam streams for surreptitious recordings

In a presentation at VB2016, Patrick Wardle, Director of Research at Synack, discussed the possibilities of Mac malware recording the user via the webcam. Today, we publish the video of Patrick's presentation.
If you are going to be at RSA in San Francisco next week, we highly recommend you attend Patrick Wardle's talk on OS X malware in 2016 – not just because it is important for Mac… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/02/vb2016-video-last-minute-paper-getting-duped-piggybacking-webcam-streams-surreptitious-recordings/

We shouldn't forget those most vulnerable in our digital world

Virus Bulletin Editor Martijn Grooten calls for the security community not to forget those most vulnerable in the digital world, including political activists living under oppressive regimes, and victims of abuse.
The new UK government has passed a far-reaching surveillance law. The new US government has stripped privacy rights from non-citizens. Surely, those who have warned about the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/02/we-shouldnt-forget-those-most-vulnerable-our-digital-world/

Throwback Thursday: A troubled world

In early 1991, the world was a troubled place and conflict and violence were being reported globally on a daily basis. With this as a backdrop, the world of "indiscriminate" computer viruses which "victimise in a random and unpredictable manner" seemed re…
In early 1991, the world was a troubled place – President George H. W. Bush had just announced the start of military Operation Desert Storm and conflict and violence were being… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/02/throwback-thursday-troubled-world/

VB2016 video: Nymaim: the Untold Story

Until very recently, the Nymaim banking trojan was a serious problem in Poland. Today, we publish the video of the VB2016 presentation by CERT Polska researchers Jarosław Jedynak and Maciej Kotowicz, in which they analyse this malware-dropper-turned-banki…
Every year, the Virus Bulletin conference programme includes a number of 'last-minute' papers: presentations on topics that are so hot, they are added to the programme only a few… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/02/vb2016-video-nymaim-untold-story/

The Living Dead Anti-Virus

Should users uninstall their anti-virus products, as was recently suggested by a security expert in a widely shared article? In a guest post, security consultant Hendrik Pilz explains why he doesn't think this is a good idea.
A former director of testing at AV-TEST and a one-time VB conference speaker, security consultant Hendrik Pilz is passionate about the quality of security products. In a guest… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/01/living-dead-anti-virus/

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/

VB2016 video: Neverquest: Crime as a Service and On the Hunt for the Big Bucks

At VB2016, Peter Kruse gave a presentation detailing the Neverquest trojan, the alleged author of which was arrested in Spain earlier this month. Today, we publish the recording of Peter's presentation.
Earlier this month, Spanish police officers arrested a Russian national on suspicion of creating the Neverquest banking trojan. Neverquest, also known as Vawtrak, is one of the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2017/01/vb2016-video-neverquest-crime-service-and-hunt-big-bucks/

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