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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Android malware hides inside JPG image

New LeNa variant no longer depends on rooted devices.
New LeNa variant no longer depends on rooted devices. Researchers at Lookout have discovered a new version of the 'LeNa' trojan for Android that does not require user interaction… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2012/04/android-malware-hides-inside-jpg-image/

Researchers find many popular sites serving drive-by downloads

10 million people exposed to malware served by 25,000 most visited sites alone.
10 million people exposed to malware served by 25,000 most visited sites alone. Researchers at Barracuda Labs have found that 58 among the 25,000 most popular websites were serving… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2012/04/researchers-find-many-popular-sites-serving-drive-downloads/

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 2012 issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to browse online or… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2012/04/april-issue-vb-published/

April

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2012/04/

Microsoft Word for Mac exploit used in targeted attacks

Tibetan NGOs targeted.
Tibetan NGOs targeted. Researchers at Alienvault have discovered a targeted attack against Tibetan NGOs that uses a three-year-old vulnerability in Microsoft Office for Mac.… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2012/03/microsoft-word-mac-exploit-used-targeted-attacks/

AV-Test issues latest results summary

Bi-monthly stats released for 31 consumer and business products.
Bi-monthly stats released for 31 consumer and business products. Independent testing body Av-Test.org has published its latest round of results, covering some 23 consumer products… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2012/03/av-test-issues-latest-results-summary/

Spam catch rates drop in latest VBSpam test

Catch rates significantly lower than in previous months.
Catch rates significantly lower than in previous months. In the latest VBSpam comparative test, 20 solutions achieved a VBSpam award, but the majority displayed significantly lower… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2012/03/spam-catch-rates-drop-latest-vbspam-test/

March

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2012/03/

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 2012 issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to browse online or… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2012/03/march-issue-vb-published/

'Unsubscribe' URL in junk fax leads to malware

Trojan downloader behind .co.cc URL.
Trojan downloader behind .co.cc URL. Researchers at Vircom have discovered a junk fax with an 'unsubscribe' URL which contained a trojan downloader. Junk faxes (also known as 'fax… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2012/02/unsubscribe-url-junk-fax-leads-malware/

New Zeus/SpyEye botnet does away with command-and-control servers

Increasing use of UDP to avoid communication tracking.
Increasing use of UDP to avoid communication tracking. Researchers at Symantec have discovered a new parallel build of Zeus (also known as Zbot) and SpyEye that appears to be… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2012/02/new-zeus-spyeye-botnet-does-away-command-and-control-servers/

200-fold increase in HTML-attachment spam

Cutwail botnet likely behind campaign that sends users to Phoenix exploit kit.
Cutwail botnet likely behind campaign that sends users to Phoenix exploit kit. Researchers at M86 have reported a significant increase in the amount of spam sent with malicious… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2012/02/200-fold-increase-html-attachment-spam/

'Hotmail and Gmail have best spam filter' says Cascade spam test

Comparative test did not take false positives into account.
Comparative test did not take false positives into account. Researchers from Cascade Insights performed a comparative spam filtering test on the three major webmail providers and… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2012/02/hotmail-and-gmail-have-best-spam-filter-says-cascade-spam-test/

February issue of VB published

The February issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download.
The February issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download. The February 2012 issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to browse online or… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2012/02/february-issue-vb-published/

February

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2012/02/

Hacktivists hijack DNS of popular websites

Security at registrars may be weak link.
Security at registrars may be weak link. A hacktivist group has managed to redirect the traffic of two popular websites by hijacking their DNS settings, researchers at Internet… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2012/01/hacktivists-hijack-dns-popular-websites/

New RFC describes best practices for running DNS-based lists

DNSBL users advised to avoid those lists that charge for delisting.
DNSBL users advised to avoid those lists that charge for delisting. A new RFC document has been published that describes the best operational practices for the use of DNS-based… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2012/01/new-rfc-describes-best-practices-running-dns-based-lists/

Vulnerability turns McAfee's anti-malware solution into open relay

Flaw allows for spam to be sent through customers' PCs.
Flaw allows for spam to be sent through customers' PCs. A vulnerability discovered in McAfee's SaaS for Total Protection, the company's hosted anti-malware solution, effectively… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2012/01/vulnerability-turns-mcafee-s-anti-malware-solution-open-relay/

AV-Test releases latest results

Business and consumer products achieve high pass rate.
Business and consumer products achieve high pass rate. Independent testing lab AV-Test.org has released its latest batch of test results, with 23 consumer products and eight… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2012/01/av-test-releases-latest-results/

Sykipot trojan used to target smart cards

Defence companies among small number of targets.
Defence companies among small number of targets. Researchers at Alienvault have discovered a version of the 'Sykipot' trojan that is being used to target organisations that make… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2012/01/sykipot-trojan-used-target-smart-cards/

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