VB Blog

Vulnerability disclosure and botnet takedown not to be hindered by Wassenaar Arrangement

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Dec 19, 2017

Clarification in the language of the Wassenaar Arrangement, a multilateral export control regime for conventional arms and dual-use goods and technologies, means those involved in vulnerability disclosure or botnet takedown won't have to worry about acquiring an export licence.

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VB2017 paper: Nine circles of Cerber

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Dec 15, 2017

Cerber is one of the major names in the world of ransomware, and last year, Check Point released a decryption service for the malware. Today, we publish a VB2017 paper by Check Point's Stanislav Skuratovich describing how the Cerber decryption tool worked; we have also uploaded the video of the presentation of this paper, by Or Eshed and Yaniv Balmas.

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Attack on Fox-IT shows how a DNS hijack can break multiple layers of security

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Dec 14, 2017

Dutch security firm Fox-IT deserves praise for being open about an attack on its client network. There are some important lessons to be learned about DNS security from its post-mortem.

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Throwback Thursday: BGP - from route hijacking to RPKI: how vulnerable is the Internet?

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Dec 14, 2017

For this week's Throwback Thursday, we look back at the video of a talk Level 3's Mike Benjamin gave at VB2016 in Denver, on BGP and BGP hijacks.

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Security Planner gives security advice based on your threat model

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Dec 13, 2017

Citizen Lab's Security Planner helps you improve your online safety, based on the specific threats you are facing.

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VB2017 video: Spora: the saga continues a.k.a. how to ruin your research in a week

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Dec 11, 2017

Today, we publish the video of the VB2017 presentation by Avast researcher Jakub Kroustek and his former colleague Előd Kironský, now at ESET, who told the story of Spora, one of of the most prominent ransomware families of 2017.

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VB2017 paper: Modern reconnaissance phase on APT – protection layer

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Dec 7, 2017

During recent research, Cisco Talos researchers observed the ways in which APT actors are evolving and how a reconnaissance phase is included in the infection vector in order to protect valuable zero-day exploits or malware frameworks. At VB2017 in Madrid, two of those researchers, Paul Rascagneres and Warren Mercer, presented a paper detailing five case studies that demonstrate how the infection vector is evolving. Today we publish both Paul and Warren's paper and the recording of their presentation.

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VB2017 paper: Peering into spam botnets

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Dec 1, 2017

At VB2017 in Madrid, CERT Poland researchers Maciej Kotowicz and Jarosław Jedynak presented a paper detailing their low-level analysis of five spam botnets. Today we publish their full paper.

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Throwback Thursday: Anti-malware testing undercover

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Nov 30, 2017

We look back at the VB2016 presentation by Righard Zwienenberg (ESET) and Luis Corrons (Panda Security), in which they discussed various issues relating to anti-malware testing.

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Virus Bulletin relaunches VB Security Jobs Market for both employers and job seekers

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Nov 30, 2017

As an independent body in the IT security industry, Virus Bulletin is in an ideal position to act as a global source of information both about jobs currently available in the field and about those candidates currently seeking to start or progress their career in the industry - which is why we have relaunched the VB Security Jobs Market.

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Vulnerabilities could trigger payload in emails upon receiving or opening

Flaws in IBM Notes and Exim/Dovecot easy to mitigate.
Flaws in IBM Notes and Exim/Dovecot easy to mitigate. Two recently discovered vulnerabilities in mail processing software could give an attacker access to a targeted system without… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/05/vulnerabilities-could-trigger-payload-emails-upon-receiving-or-opening/

Opposition activists in Asia and Africa targeted by spyware developed by Western companies

Mozilla angry about use of its brand and logo.
Mozilla angry about use of its brand and logo. A new report has been released on the commercialization of digital spying, which thoroughly analyses a number of pieces of spyware… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/05/opposition-activists-asia-and-africa-targeted-spyware-developed-western-companies/

May issue of VB published

The May issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download.
The May issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download. The May 2013 issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to browse online or download… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/05/may-issue-vb-published/

May

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/05/

VB100 XP comparative features new speed vs. detection graph

At-a-glance chart shows both detection rates and impact on system performance.
At-a-glance chart shows both detection rates and impact on system performance. The results of the latest VB100 comparative review were released recently, covering 40 products on… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/05/xp-comparative-features-new-speed-vs-detection-graph/

WordPress pingback used for DDoS attacks

Millions of sites could potentially be used in attack.
Millions of sites could potentially be used in attack. Security firm Incapsula reports that it has discovered a DDoS attack on a gaming website using thousands of legitimate… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/05/wordpress-pingback-used-ddos-attacks/

Apache binaries replaced by stealth malcious ones

Malicious servers opening backdoors, performing redirects.
Malicious servers opening backdoors, performing redirects. Researchers at ESET and Sucuri have discovered a modified Apache binary that is used on hundreds of web servers to… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/04/apache-binaries-replaced-stealth-malcious-ones/

Dutchman arrested in Spain for DDoS attacks on Spamhaus

Suspect drove around in 'mobile bunker' to co-ordinate attacks.
Suspect drove around in 'mobile bunker' to co-ordinate attacks. Police in Spain have arrested a 35-year-old Dutchman, believed to be responsible for the DDoS attacks on Spamhaus… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/04/dutchman-arrested-spain-ddos-attacks-spamhaus/

Cybercriminals quick to exploit emerging news

Malicious emails appear a matter of hours after news of explosions in the US.
Malicious emails appear a matter of hours after news of explosions in the US. It would have come as little surprise to anyone in the security industry that within hours of this… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/04/cybercriminals-quick-exploit-emerging-news/

Different focus on spam needed

What happens before the filter doesn't matter too much.
What happens before the filter doesn't matter too much. It is surprisingly difficult to get accurate figures for the amount of spam that is sent globally, yet everyone agrees that… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/04/different-focus-spam-needed/

VB2013 programme announced

Exciting range of topics to be covered at VB conference in Berlin this October.
Exciting range of topics to be covered at VB conference in Berlin this October. The VB conference selection committee have been busily assessing more than 150 proposals submitted… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/04/programme-announced/

AV-Comparatives reveals detection and protection reports

Figures released for long-term real-world tests and large-scale scanning measures.
Figures released for long-term real-world tests and large-scale scanning measures. Hot on the heels of the recent report from AV-Test, the latest sets of figures from Austrian… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/04/av-comparatives-reveals-detection-and-protection-reports/

AV-Test releases first Windows 8 test stats

Corporate and consumer products rated against Windows Defender baseline.
Corporate and consumer products rated against Windows Defender baseline. Independent testing house AV-Test.org has released its first set of figures for solutions run on Windows 8,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/04/av-test-releases-first-windows-8-test-stats/

April issue of VB published

The April issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download.
The April issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download. The April 2013 issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to browse online or… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/04/april-issue-vb-published/

April

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/04/

Catch rates drop in latest VBSpam tests

Spam more of a challenge for majority of products.
Spam more of a challenge for majority of products. The results of VB's latest spam filter test show that spam has become more difficult to filter - with 15 of the 19 products… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/03/catch-rates-drop-latest-vbspam-tests/

Spam link sends Android users to trojan proxy

Meanwhile, desktop users sent to (relatively harmless) weight-loss site.
Meanwhile, desktop users sent to (relatively harmless) weight-loss site. Links found in certain spam emails which redirect desktop users to a phony weight-loss website, have been… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/03/spam-link-sends-android-users-trojan-proxy/

March issue of VB published

The March issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download.
The March issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download. The March 2013 issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to browse online or… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/03/march-issue-vb-published/

March

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/03/

VB data supports Google's claim to having reduced compromised accounts

Internet giant may indeed do something right; Yahoo! has a real problem.
Internet giant may indeed do something right; Yahoo! has a real problem. Internet giant Google claims that a 'complex risk analysis' using 'more than 120 variables' has reduced the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2013/02/vb-data-supports-google-s-claim-having-reduced-compromised-accounts/

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