VB Blog

Parting thoughts 2: the need for education in security

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Dec 18, 2019

In the second of a five-part series of blog posts, departing VB Editor Martijn Grooten explains why he believes cybersecurity professionals need to educate themselves on the complexities of the real-world situations in which security is applied.

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VB2019 paper: Absolutely routed!! Why routers are the new bullseye in cyber attacks

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Dec 18, 2019

Today we publish the VB2019 paper by Anurag Shandilya (K7 Computing) who looked at recent malware attacks against routers, as well as the video of his presentation in London.

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Parting thoughts 1: cybersecurity as a social science

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Dec 17, 2019

In the first of a five-part series of blog post, departing VB Editor Martijn Grooten explains why he believes cybersecurity isn't as much as technical field as we like to believe.

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VB2020 call for papers - now open!

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Dec 16, 2019

Have you analysed a new online threat? Do you know a new way to defend against such threats? Are you tasked with securing systems and fending off attacks? The call for papers for VB2020 is now open and we want to hear from you!

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VB2019 paper: Operation Soft Cell - a worldwide campaign against telecommunication providers

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Dec 13, 2019

Today we publish the VB2019 paper by Cybereason researchers Mor Levi, Amit Serper and Assaf Dahan on Operation Soft Cell, a targeted attack against telecom providers around the world.

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VB2019 paper: A study of Machete cyber espionage operations in Latin America

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Dec 10, 2019

At VB2019 in London a group of researchers from the Stratosphere Lab at the Czech Technical University in Prague presented a paper in which they analysed and dissected the cyber espionage activities of an APT group in Latin America through the analysis of one of its tools, known as Machete. Today we publish their paper and the recording of their presentation.

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VB2019 paper: The push from fiction for increased surveillance, and its impact on privacy

Posted by   Helen Martin on   Dec 5, 2019

In a paper presented at VB2019 in London, researchers Miriam Cihodariu (Heimdal Security) and Andrei Bogdan Brad (Code4Romania) looked at how surveillance is represented in fiction and how these representations are shaping people's attitudes to surveillance in current legal debates. Today we publish both their paper and the recording of Miriam presenting the paper in London.

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VB2019 paper: Oops! It happened again!

Posted by   Helen Martin on   Dec 3, 2019

At VB2019 in London industry veterans Righard Zwienenberg and Eddy Willems took a detailed look at the relationship between past and current cyber threats. Today, we publish both their paper and the recording of their presentation.

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Job vacancy at VB: Security Evangelist

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Nov 29, 2019

Virus Bulletin is recruiting for a person to be the public face of the company

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VB2019 video: Thwarting Emotet email conversation thread hijacking with clustering

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Nov 29, 2019

At VB2019 in London, ZEROSPAM researchers Pierre-Luc Vaudry and Olivier Coutu discussed how email clustering could be used to detect malicious Emotet emails that hijacked existing email threads. Today we publish the recording of their presentation.

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Compromised Yahoo! accounts continue to spread Android malware

Problem likely to be on Yahoo!'s side.
Problem likely to be on Yahoo!'s side. In recent weeks, we have noticed an uptick in the amount of spam sent from compromised Yahoo! accounts; we have reasons to believe the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/06/compromised-yahoo-accounts-continue-spread-android-malware/

VB2013 speaker spotlight

We speak to VB2013 presenters Lysa Myers and David Harley about their research interests and what they aim to bring to the conference.
We speak to VB2013 presenters Lysa Myers and David Harley about their research interests and what they aim to bring to the conference. The VB2013 conference takes place this autumn… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/06/speaker-spotlight-harley-myers/

Facebook temporarily blocks access from Tor

Malicious activity triggered automatic lockdown.
Malicious activity triggered automatic lockdown. A 'high volume of malicious activity across Tor exit nodes' is believed to have been the reason why Facebook temporarily blocked… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/06/facebook-temporarily-blocks-access-tor/

AV Test releases Android test data

30 mobile solutions tested for malware protection and speed hit.
30 mobile solutions tested for malware protection and speed hit. Independent test organization AV-Test has released its latest report, covering the Andriod platform. This major… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/06/av-test-releases-android-test-data/

Latest VBSpam tests show web host spam harder to block

Most filters see a small increase in their catch rates overall.
Most filters see a small increase in their catch rates overall. The results of VB's latest spam filter test show that the spam sent from web hosts is significantly harder to block… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/06/latest-vbspam-tests-show-web-host-spam-harder-block/

AMTSO unveils product setup check tools

Set of checks can show if your security is properly configured and operational.
Set of checks can show if your security is properly configured and operational. Today AMTSO officially released its 'Feature settings check' solutions, a set of simple tools to… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/06/amtso-unveils-product-setup-check-tools/

June

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/06/

June issue of VB published

The June issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download.
The June issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download. The June 2013 issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to browse online or download… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/06/june-issue-vb-published/

US lifts ban on anti-virus software for Iran

Eased restrictions welcomed by security experts.
Eased restrictions welcomed by security experts. The United States has announced it has eased export restrictions to Iran, and now allows for the export of mobile phones and… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/05/us-lifts-ban-anti-virus-software-iran/

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/

Latest AV-Test results released

New round of figures compare products to Microsoft baselines.
New round of figures compare products to Microsoft baselines. Independent test organization AV-Test has released its latest bimonthly report, covering 26 consumer products and nine… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/05/latest-av-test-results-released/

Symantec quietly retires PC Tools security product lines

Sales of Spyware Doctor and other security products end, support to continue for existing users.
Sales of Spyware Doctor and other security products end, support to continue for existing users.Symantec has quietly announced the end of life the of PC Tools security product… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/05/symantec-quietly-retires-pc-tools-security-product-lines/

Dutch citizens keep extra cash at hand following DDoS attacks

Month-long attacks had significant impact.
Month-long attacks had significant impact. 25% of Dutch citizens have followed advice to keep extra cash at home, following a recent spate of DDoS attacks on Dutch banks. At the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/05/dutch-citizens-keep-extra-cash-hand-following-ddos-attacks/

India believed to be source of sophisticated surveillance campaigns

In-depth investigations find widespread worldwide snooping, Pakistan primary target.
In-depth investigations find widespread worldwide snooping, Pakistan primary target. Several reports have emerged recently covering a highly organised campaign of targeted… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/05/india-believed-be-source-sophisticated-surveillance-campaigns/

German anti-botnet advisory recommends the use of ad blockers for security

'If websites want to include ads, they must make sure they are secure.'
'If websites want to include ads, they must make sure they are secure.' In an open letter to several prominent German websites, Botfrei, the German anti-botnet advisory centre, has… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/05/german-anti-botnet-advisory-recommends-use-ad-blockers-security/

Commoditization increasingly seen in mobile malware

Number of malicious samples and families increase, as Android remains most popular mobile platform.
Number of malicious samples and families increase, as Android remains most popular mobile platform. As the number of mobile malware samples in existence continues to grow faster… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/05/commoditization-increasingly-seen-mobile-malware/

Microsoft 'found to make requests' to URLs shared via Skype

HEAD requests likely used to determine landing page.
HEAD requests likely used to determine landing page. Is Microsoft checking all the links you share via Skype? German online magazine Heise thinks so. A reader of security magazine… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/05/microsoft-found-make-requests-urls-shared-skype/

Program turns anti-analysis tools against the malware

Users cautioned to be wary of a false sense of security.
Users cautioned to be wary of a false sense of security. Could you defeat VM-aware malware by making your system aware of VM-aware malware? Tricks to frustrate researchers and… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/05/program-turns-anti-analysis-tools-against-malware/

Twitter, Facebook accounts used in watering hole campaign

USAID sympathizers targeted with links from 'like-minded people'.
USAID sympathizers targeted with links from 'like-minded people'. Two social networking accounts have been discovered that were used in a recent targeted attack. Opinions on… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/05/twitter-facebook-accounts-used-watering-hole-campaign/

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/

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