VB Blog

VB2016 paper: Wave your false flags! Deception tactics muddying attribution in targeted attacks

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Nov 21, 2016

Today, we publish the VB2016 paper and presentation (recording) by Kaspersky Lab researchers Juan Andrés Guerrero-Saade and Brian Bartholomew, in which they look at some of the deception tactics used in targeted attacks.

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Throwback Thursday: The Politics of Anti-Virus

Posted by   Helen Martin on   Nov 10, 2016

President-elect of the United States Donald Trump made a number of promises about cybersecurity during his electoral campaign. What comes of those pledges remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: there will be a team of hard-working, dedicated individuals working behind the scenes to protect the computer systems of Federal government agencies, as there have been for years. Back in 1999, VB published a report describing a day in the life of the Affiliated Computer Services Government Solutions Group (ACS GSG) - the group responsible for providing full service computer support to US Federal government agencies across the United States.

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VB2016 paper: The TAO of Automated Iframe Injectors - Building Drive-by Platforms For Fun

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Oct 18, 2016

We publish Aditya K. Sood's VB2016 paper on the use of iframe injectors by cybercriminals to deliver drive-by downloads.

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“Cybersecurity is, at its core, a people problem,” says VB2016 keynote speaker

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Sep 26, 2016

An interview with VB2016’s keynote speaker Christine Whalley - Director, Governance and IT Risk Management at Pfizer

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Throwback Thursday: Following the Breadcrumbs

Posted by   Helen Martin on   Sep 22, 2016

In 1999, Christine Orshesky described how one large organization decided to find out how and where the viruses within it were being obtained so it could do more to protect its networks.

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VB2016 preview: Cryptography mistakes in malware

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Sep 15, 2016

At VB2016, two talks will discuss mistakes made by malware authors in cryptographic implementations. Ben Herzog and Yaniv Balmas will present a paper in which they look at a number of these mistakes, while Malwarebytes researcher hasherezade will present a last-minute paper on making use of some of these mistakes to crack ransomware.

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GPS technology is more at risk from cyber attack than ever before, security expert demonstrates at VB2016

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Sep 14, 2016

Next month at VB2016, HPE Security's Oleg Petrovsky will speak about attacks on GPS. We conducted a short interview with Oleg and asked him about GPS, about the conference, and about his ultimate dinner party.

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BSides Denver: Join and Support the Security Community

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Sep 13, 2016

If you are coming to VB2016 in Denver, why not spend an extra day in the Mile-High City and join the free BSides Denver conference, which takes place on Saturday?

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VB2016 'Last-Minute' Papers Announced

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Sep 13, 2016

We are excited to announce the addition of the "last-minute" papers to the VB2016 programme: nine presentations covering hot research topics, from OS X attacks to exotic APTs, breaking ransomware and the current state of BGP.

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VB2016 preview: Debugging and Monitoring Malware Network Activities with Haka

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Sep 12, 2016

In a VB2016 paper, Stormshield researchers Benoit Ancel and Mehdi Talbi will present a paper on Haka, a tool that can be used to monitor and debug malware's network communications.

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VB2019 paper: Medical IoT for diabetes and cybercrime

At VB2019 in London, Fortinet researcher Axelle Apvrille presented a paper co-written with Aamir Lakhani that looked at the threats faced by those who use medical IoT devices to help manage their diabetes. Today we publish the researchers' paper, as well …
Medical IoT for diabetes and cybercrime Read the paper (HTML) Download the paper (PDF)   It is estimated that between 8% and 9% of the population worldwide suffers with some… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2020/01/vb2019-paper-medical-iot-diabetes-and-cybercrime/

Why we encourage newcomers and seasoned presenters alike to submit a paper for VB2020

With the call for papers for VB2020 currently open, we explain why, whether you've never presented before or you're a conference circuit veteran, if you have some interesting research to share with the community we want to hear from you!
Over almost three decades, the Virus Bulletin Conference has built a reputation as a conference that produces solid content. While you might be forgiven for thinking this comes… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2020/02/why-we-encourage-you-submit-paper-vb2020/

VB2019 paper: Spoofing in the reeds with Rietspoof

In a VB2019 paper Avast researchers Jan Sirmer, Luigino Camastra and Adolf Středa revealed full details of the Rietspoof malware. Today we publish their paper and the recording of the presentation given by Jan and Luigino in London.
Spoofing in the reeds with Rietspoof Read the paper (HTML) Download the paper (PDF)     The Call for Papers for VB2020 in Dublin is open! Submit your abstract before… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2020/01/vb2019-paper-spoofing-reeds-rietspoof/

New paper: Behind the scenes of GandCrab's operation

The GandCrab ransomware regularly updated itself to newer versions to stay ahead of decryptors released by security researchers, and regularly included taunts, jokes and references to security organizations in its code. In a new paper, the AhnLab Security…
  For more details of GandCrab, also see the VB2019 paper and presentation by McAfee researchers John Fokker and Alexandre Mundo, who looked both at the malware code and its… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2020/01/new-paper-behind-scenes-gandcrabs-operation/

VB2019 paper: King of the hill: nation-state counterintelligence for victim deconfliction

At VB2019 Juan Andres Guerrero-Saade looked at nation-state actors using threat intelligence for victim deconfliction. Today we publish both his paper and the recording of his presentation.
King of the hill: nation-state counterintelligence for victim deconfliction Read the paper (HTML) Download the paper (PDF)   Past Virus Bulletin conference papers… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2020/01/vb2019-paper-king-hill-nation-state-counterintelligence-victim-deconfliction/

The VB2020 call for papers - how it works

With the VB2020 Call for Papers now open, we explain how the selection procedure works, which may help you during your abstract submission.
We recently opened the call for papers for VB2020, which is to take place 30 September to 2 October in Dublin, Ireland. The deadline for the call for papers is Sunday 15 March.… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2020/01/vb2020-call-papers/

VB2019 presentation: Targeted attacks through ISPs

In 2019 we saw a rise in the number of targeted malware infections spread via ISPs and service providers. In a last-minute paper presented at VB2019 in London, Kaspersky researcher Denis Legezo discussed the details of a number of such cases. Today we rel…
In 2019 we saw an increase in the number of targeted malware infections spread via ISPs and service providers. Some notable cases included the installation of digital certificates… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2020/01/vb2019-presentation-targeted-attacks-through-isps/

VB2019 presentation: A deep dive into iPhone exploit chains

In a last-minute presentation at VB2019 in London, John Bambenek of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign discussed details of campaigns that used advanced iOS and Android exploit chains against China’s Uighur minority. Today we release the recor…
One of the biggest security stories of 2019 was the use of advanced iOS and Android exploit chains against China’s Uighur minority, first uncovered by Google’s Project Zero with… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2020/01/vb2019-presentation-deep-dive-iphone-exploit-chains/

Latest VBWeb report describes current state of the web-based threat landscape

Today we released the Winter 2020 VBWeb report, detailing the performance of web security products against live web threats and looking at the current state of the web-based threat landscape.
VBWeb Comparative Review - Winter 2020 Read the report (HTML) Download the report (PDF)   If you are interested in having your product tested either publicly or privately, or… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2020/01/latest-vbweb-report-describes-current-state-web-based-threat-landscape/

VB2019 paper: Catch me if you can: detection of injection exploitation by validating query and API integrity

In a paper presented at VB2019 in London, Prismo Systems researchers Abhishek Singh and Ramesh Mani discussed code injection vulnerabilities and presented a tool that could detect this vulnerability class. Today we publish their paper and the recording of…
Catch me if you can: detection of injection exploitation by validating query and API integrity Read the paper (HTML) Download the paper (PDF)       Any web app that… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2020/01/vb2019-paper-catch-me-if-you-can-detection-injection-exploitation-validating-query-and-api-integrity/

Virus Bulletin says a fond farewell and thank you to Martijn Grooten

As VB Editor Martijn Grooten steps down from his role to move on to new challenges, the team wish him a fond farewell and the very best of luck in his future endeavours.
Thirteen years ago, VB was searching for a web developer to join the very small team based in Oxfordshire, UK. A CV came in from one Martijn Grooten, a former Ph.D. student in… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2019/12/virus-bulletin-says-fond-farewell-and-thank-you-martijn-grooten/

VB2019 paper: Never before had Stierlitz been so close to failure (or: what is a Soviet super-spy doing in a popular bundleware for Mac?)

Today, we publish the VB2019 paper and video by Sophos researcher Sergei Shevchenko in which he analyses a popular yet unnamed piece of macOS ‘bundleware’.
Over the years, many ‘potentially unwanted applications’ have plagued macOS in the same way they have plagued other platforms. Though anti-virus isn’t ubiquitous on Macs,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2019/12/vb2019-paper-never-had-stierlitz-been-so-close-failure-or-what-soviet-super-spy-doing-popular-bundleware-mac/

Parting thoughts 5: bringing the good news

In the final of a five-part series of blog posts, departing VB Editor Martijn Grooten argues for more emphasis on the good news in security, especially that which is more subtle.
At the end of this month, I will step down as Editor of Virus Bulletin. Before doing so, I have been sharing some 'parting thoughts' in five blog posts, based on my experience… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2019/12/parting-thoughts-5-bringing-good-news/

Parting thoughts 4: the big picture

In the fourth of a five-part series of blog posts, departing VB Editor Martijn Grooten explains why security researchers should refer to other people's work.
At the end of this month, I will step down as Editor of Virus Bulletin. Before I do so, I will share some 'parting thoughts' in five blog posts, based on my experience working in… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2019/12/parting-thoughts-4-big-picture/

VB2019 paper: Exploring the Chinese DDoS landscape

China has long been a hotbed of DDoS activities, and today we publish a VB2019 paper by Intezer researcher Nacho Sanmillan who looked at Chinese threat groups engaged in performing DDoS attacks. We have also uploaded the recording of his presentation.
Exploring the Chinese DDoS landscape Read the paper (HTML) Download the paper (PDF)       China has long been a hotbed of DDoS activities, with several groups… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2019/12/vb2019-paper-exploring-chinese-ddos-landscape/

Parting thoughts 3: taking security seriously

In the third of a five-part series of blog posts, departing VB Editor Martijn Grooten explains why he believes security vendors should take their products' security more seriously.
At the end of this month, I will step down as Editor of Virus Bulletin. Before I do so, I will share some 'parting thoughts' in five blog posts, based on my experience working in… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2019/12/parting-thoughts-3-taking-security-seriously/

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

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.
Given their prominent position on home and corporate networks and their often poor standard of security, one might be forgiven for being surprised that massive attacks against… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2019/12/vb2019-paper-absolutely-routed-why-routers-are-new-bullseye-cyber-attacks/

Parting thoughts 2: the need for education in security

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.
At the end of this month, I will step down as Editor of Virus Bulletin. Before I do so, I will share some 'parting thoughts' in five blog posts, based on my experience working in… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2019/12/parting-thoughts-2-need-education-security/

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