VB Blog

Stalkerware poses particular challenges to anti-virus products

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Oct 31, 2019

Malware used in domestic abuse situations is a growing threat, and the standard way for anti-virus products to handle such malware may not be good enough. But that doesn't mean there isn't an important role for anti-virus to play.

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VB2019 paper: Inside Magecart: the history behind the covert card-skimming assault on the e-commerce industry

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Oct 28, 2019

Today we publish the VB2019 paper by RiskIQ researcher Yonathan Klijnsma, who looked at the Magecart web-skimming attacks.

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VB2019 videos: partner presentations

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Oct 25, 2019

Today, we publish the videos of the VB2019 partner presentations by Michael Maltsev (Reason Cybersecurity) on webcam interception and protection, and by Jean-Ian Boutin and Anton Cherepanov (ESET) on the Buhtrap group.

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VB tests the web security products that play an important role in fending off web-based threats

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Oct 24, 2019

The web continues to be a major infection vector for malware and credential-stealing threats. In the VBWeb tests, we measure products' ability to block such threats and certify products that perform a good job at doing so.

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VB2019 papers: Emotet and Ryuk

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Oct 23, 2019

Today we publish VB2019 papers by Luca Nagy (Sophos) on Emotet and Gabriela Nicolao and Luciano Martins (Deloitte) on Ryuk, as well as the corresponding videos of their presentations.

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Responsible madness?

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Oct 22, 2019

The debate on responsible disclosure is about as old as IT security itself. In a guest post for Virus Bulletin Robert Neumann suggests we need to reconsider a one-size-fits-all solution and instead look for a well-respected independent organization to handle security issues.

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VB2019 paper: Geost botnet. The story of the discovery of a new Android banking trojan from an OpSec error

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Oct 21, 2019

OpSec mistakes are what lead to many malware discoveries, and in the case of the Geost Android botnet the mistake was a really interesting one. Today we publish the VB2019 paper by Sebastian García, Maria Jose Erquiaga and Anna Shirokova on the Geost botnet, as well as the recording of Sebastian and Anna presenting their research in London.

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Analysis of malware responsible for sextortion spam that mines for Monero on the side

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Oct 14, 2019

VB2019 Platinum partner Reason Cybersecurity presents a threat analysis report on the Save Yourself malware.

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Guest blog: Threat intelligence – a unifying force of the future

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Oct 4, 2019

In a guest blog post VB2019 Platinum partner Reason Cybersecurity looks to the future of threat intelligence.

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Guest blog: Why we should be paying more attention to Linux threats

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Sep 25, 2019

In a guest blog post VB2019 Silver partner Intezer outlines the importance of paying attention to Linux threats.

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Search blog

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/

VB2014 video: .NET malware dynamic instrumentation for automated and manual analysis

Hexiang Hu used tool to detect Bladabindi backdoor.
Hexiang Hu used tool to detect Bladabindi backdoor. The .NET framework is a popular way to write software. As applications built with the framework compile into a Common… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/02/video-net-malware-dynamic-instrumentation-automated-and-manual-analysis/

Facebook launches platform for sharing of threat intelligence

Twitter, Yahoo! amongst early participants in 'ThreatExchange'.
Twitter, Yahoo! amongst early participants in 'ThreatExchange'. When I took my first steps in the security industry, I was surprised by just how much information was shared between… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/02/facebook-launches-platform-sharing-threat-intelligence/

VirusTotal project aims to remediate false positives

Security vendors to receive alerts when legitimate files are detected as malicious.
Security vendors to receive alerts when legitimate files are detected as malicious.False positives are a huge problem for the IT industry in general and for security products in… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/02/virustotal-project-aims-remediate-false-positives/

VB2014 paper: P0wned by a barcode: stealing money from offline users

Fabio Assolini explains how cybercriminals are targeting boletos.
Fabio Assolini explains how cybercriminals are targeting boletos.Since the close of the VB2014 conference in Seattle in October, we have been sharing VB2014 conference papers as… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/02/paper-p0wned-barcode-stealing-money-offline-users/

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/

VB2014 paper: We know it before you do: predicting malicious domains

Wei Xu and his colleagues attempt to block domains before they're used for bad purposes.
Wei Xu and his colleagues attempt to block domains before they're used for bad purposes.Since the close of the VB2014 conference in Seattle in October, we have been sharing VB2014… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/02/paper-we-know-it-you-do-predicting-malicious-domains/

Praise for the unsung heroes of email

Many decent performances in VB's latest comparative spam filter test.
Many decent performances in VB's latest comparative spam filter test. A decade ago, there were optimists who thought that the spam problem would soon be eradicated. At the same… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/02/praise-unsung-heroes-email/

Low VirusTotal detection rates for new malware, do they matter?

It is not as important as is often suggested — and doesn't mean the malware is allowed to execute.
It is not as important as is often suggested — and doesn't mean the malware is allowed to execute. It is fairly common these days for security researchers to write about new… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/02/low-virustotal-detection-rates-new-malware-do-they-matter/

'RansomWeb' ransomware targets companies' databases

Encryption first added as a patch, key only removed when all backups are encrypted.
Encryption first added as a patch, key only removed when all backups are encrypted. Make backups, they said. Then you won't have to worry about ransomware, they said. Ransomware… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/02/ransomweb-ransomware-targets-companies-databases/

From roadie to security rock star: it can happen

To break into security, start by getting a job in the industry.
To break into security, start by getting a job in the industry. You don't have to be a regular reader of this blog to know that computer security is very important in our… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/02/roadie-security-rock-star-it-can-happen/

February

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/02/

VB2014 paper: Ubiquitous Flash, ubiquitous exploits and ubiquitous mitigation

Chun Feng and Elia Florio analyse two Flash Player vulnerabilities and an IE one where Flash provides a helping hand.
Chun Feng and Elia Florio analyse two Flash Player vulnerabilities and an IE one where Flash provides a helping hand.Since the close of the VB2014 conference in Seattle in October,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/01/paper-ubiquitous-flash-ubiquitous-exploits-and-ubiquitous-mitigation/

Frequently asked questions about VB2015 conference submissions

No, it doesn't have to be about malware and no, it doesn't have to be deeply technical either!
No, it doesn't have to be about malware and no, it doesn't have to be deeply technical either! Last month, we opened the call for papers for VB2015, the 25th Virus Bulletin… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/01/frequently-asked-questions-about-conference-submissions/

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/

VB2014 paper: Design to discover: security analytics with 3D visualization engine

Thibault Reuille and Dhia Mahjoub use DNS data to look for clusters of malicious domains.
Thibault Reuille and Dhia Mahjoub use DNS data to look for clusters of malicious domains.Since the close of the VB2014 conference in Seattle in October, we have been sharing VB2014… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/01/paper-design-discover-security-analytics-3d-visualization-engine/

Adobe to patch Flash Player zero-day next week

Patch due next week as malvertising leads to Bedep trojan downloader.
Patch due next week as malvertising leads to Bedep trojan downloader. As the news of a zero-day vulnerability in Adobe's Flash Player actively being exploited reached the security… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/01/adobe-patch-flash-player-zero-day-next-week/

Alleged Flash Player zero-day used in Angler exploit kit

Adobe 'investigating reports'.
Adobe 'investigating reports'.Vulnerable browser plug-ins are one of the most important infection vectors, which is why it is so important to keep them up to date. If you don't,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/01/alleged-flash-player-zero-day-used-angler-exploit-kit/

Research paper profiles victims of targeted attacks

Large organisations working in national security and international affairs run highest risk.
Large organisations working in national security and international affairs run highest risk. Anyone can be a target of cybercriminal attacks these days. But some are bigger targets… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/01/research-paper-profiles-victims-targeted-attacks/

Paper: Nesting doll: unwrapping Vawtrak

Raul Alvarez unwraps the many layers of an increasingly prevalent banking trojan.
Raul Alvarez unwraps the many layers of an increasingly prevalent banking trojan. Banking trojans remain one of the most prevalent kinds of malware. Among them, trojans based on… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/01/paper-nesting-doll-unwrapping-vawtrak/

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