VB Blog

VB2018 paper: Anatomy of an attack: detecting and defeating CRASHOVERRIDE

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Mar 5, 2019

In December 2016, the CRASHOVERRIDE malware framework was used to cause a blackout in Ukraine. At VB2018 in Montreal, Dragos researcher Joe Slowik presented a detailed paper on the framework, explaining how the malware works and how it targets various protocols used to operate the electric grid. Today we publish both Joe's paper and the recording of his presentation.

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VB2018 presentation: Levelling up: why sharing threat intelligence makes you more competitive

Posted by   Helen Martin on   Mar 1, 2019

In a presentation at VB2018, Michael Daniel, President and CEO of the Cyber Threat Alliance, outlined exactly how threat sharing strengthens a company's competitive advantage. Today we release the recording of his presentation.

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The malspam security products miss: Emotet, Ursnif, and a spammer's blunder

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Feb 25, 2019

The set-up of the VBSpam test lab gives us a unique insight into the kinds of emails that are more likely to bypass email filters. This week we look at the malspam that was missed: a very international email with a link serving Emotet, an Italian Ursnif campaign with a password-protected ZIP and an email to which a clumsy spammer had attached a list of email addresses rather than a payload.

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VB2018 paper: The modality of mortality in domain names

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Feb 22, 2019

Domains play a crucial role in most cyber attacks, from the very advanced to the very mundane. Today, we publish a VB2018 paper by Paul Vixie (Farsight Security) who undertook the first systematic study into the lifetimes of newly registered domains.

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VB2018 paper: Analysing compiled binaries using logic

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Feb 20, 2019

Constraint programming is a lesser-known technique that is becoming increasingly popular among malware analysts. In a paper presented at VB2018 Thaís Moreira Hamasaki presented an overview of the technique and explained how it can be applied to the analysis of (potentially) malicious binaries. Today, we publish both Thaís' paper and the video of her presentation.

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Virus Bulletin encourages experienced speakers and newcomers alike to submit proposals for VB2019

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Feb 19, 2019

With a little less than a month before the deadline of the call for papers for VB2019, Virus Bulletin encourages submissions from experienced speakers and newcomers alike.

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VB2018 paper: Internet balkanization: why are we raising borders online?

Posted by   Helen Martin on   Feb 13, 2019

At VB2018 in Montreal, Ixia researcher Stefan Tanase presented a thought-provoking paper on the current state of the Internet and the worrying tendency towards raising borders and restricting the flow of information. Today we publish both his paper and the recording of his presentation.

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The malspam security products miss: banking and email phishing, Emotet and Bushaloader

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Feb 11, 2019

The set-up of the VBSpam test lab gives us a unique insight into the kinds of emails that are more likely to bypass email filters. This week we look at the malspam that was missed: banking and email phishing, Emotet and Bushaloader.

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VB2018 paper: Where have all the good hires gone?

Posted by   Helen Martin on   Feb 8, 2019

The cybersecurity skills gap has been described as one of the biggest challenges facing IT leaders today. At VB2018 in Montreal, ESET's Lysa Myers outlined some of the things the industry can do to help address the problem. Today we publish Lysa's paper and the recording of her presentation.

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Preview: Nullcon 2019

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Feb 5, 2019

We look forward the Nullcon 2019 conference in Goa, India, at which VB Editor Martijn Grooten will give a talk on the state of malware.

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VB2019 call for last-minute papers closes on Sunday (1 Sept)

Your last chance to get a speaking slot on the VB2019 programme with a talk on hot research!
The majority of the VB2019 programme was announced in April, and though we like to see VB as a conference that looks beyond the hype, we are more than a little proud that several… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2019/08/vb2019-call-last-minute-papers-closes-sunday-1st-sept/

21 organisations partner with VB2019

Record number of partner organisations for the Virus Bulletin Conference reflects very broad and international event.
Three months after we announced the first 14 partners and supporting organisations for VB2019, the 29th Virus Bulletin Conference, seven more organisations have signed up to… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2019/08/21-organisations-partner-vb2019/

VB2019 preview: Exploring Emotet, an elaborate everyday enigma

We preview the VB2019 paper by Sophos researcher Luca Nagy, who dives deeply into the notorious Emotet malware.
Active since 2014, initially as a banking trojan, Emotet has been a plague on the Internet in recent years. Emotet's core strength is its ability to download other malware, thus… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2019/08/vb2019-preview-exploring-emotet-elaborate-everyday-enigma/

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

Researchers from the Czech Technical University in Prague will present a very comprehensive overview of the Machete APT group.
The US government considers China, Russia, Iran and North Korea to be the most prominent nation-state actors in cyber space. Apart from conveniently ignoring activities by the US… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2019/08/vb2019-preview-study-machete-cyber-espionage-operations-latin-america/

AfricaHackon 2019: a great event and a reminder that security is global

Last week, VB Editor Martijn Grooten travelled to the Kenyan capital Nairobi to speak at the 6th edition of the AfricaHackon event.
It was a few years ago that I first learned of AfricaHackon, Africa's premier IT security conference. It led me to invite Tyrus Kamau, one of the event's organisers, to speak at… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2019/08/africahackon-2019-reminder-security-global/

Virus Bulletin researcher discovers new Lord exploit kit

Still in-development kit thus far only targets Flash Player vulnerabilities
The number of active exploit kits is very small: the recently published summer 2019 edition of Malwarebytes' quarterly round-up lists the seven then known active exploit kits. To… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2019/08/virus-bulletin-researcher-discovers-new-lord-exploit-kit/

VB2019 call for last-minute papers opened

The call for last-minute papers for VB2019 is now open. Submit before 1 September to have your abstract considered for one of the nine slots reserved for 'hot' research.
Virus Bulletin has opened the call for last-minute papers for VB2019.  The VB2019 programme already boasts some 40 talks that were announced more than three months ago. Though… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2019/07/vb2019-call-last-minute-papers-opened/

Nominations opened for sixth Péter Szőr Award

Virus Bulletin is seeking nominations for the sixth annual Péter Szőr Award.
Virus Bulletin is seeking nominations for the sixth annual Péter Szőr Award. The award was inaugurated during the VB2014 conference, in honour of late security researcher and… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2019/07/nominations-opened-sixth-peter-szor-award/

Haroon Meer and Adrian Sanabria to deliver VB2019 closing keynote

New additions to the VB2019 conference programme include a closing keynote address from Thinkst duo Haroon Meer and Adrian Sanabria and a talk on attacks against payment systems.
We are very excited to announce that the closing keynote for VB2019 will be delivered by Haroon Meer and Adrian Sanabria of Thinkst, the company that was founded by Haroon and… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2019/06/haroon-meer-and-adrian-sanabria-deliver-vb2019-closing-keynote/

Free VB2019 tickets for students

Virus Bulletin is excited to announce that, thanks to generous sponsorship from Google Android, we are able to offer 20 free tickets to students who want to attend VB2019.
Update 02 August 2019: Applications for free student tickets have now closed. Virus Bulletin is excited to announce that, thanks to generous sponsorship from Google Android, we… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2019/06/free-vb2019-tickets-students/

VB2018 paper: Lazarus Group: a mahjong game played with different sets of tiles

The Lazarus Group, generally linked to the North Korean government, is one of the most notorious threat groups seen in recent years. At VB2018 ESET researchers Peter Kálnai and Michal Poslušný presented a paper looking at the group's various campaigns. To…
Lazarus Group: a mahjong game played with different sets of tiles Read the paper (HTML) Download the paper (PDF)       At VB2019 in London, Peter and Michal will… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2019/06/vb2018-paper-lazarus-group-mahjong-game-played-different-sets-tiles/

Book your VB2019 ticket now for a chance to win a ticket for BSides London

Virus Bulletin is proud to sponsor this year's BSides London conference, which will take place next week, and we have a number of tickets to give away.
At Virus Bulletin, we have a particular fondness for the BSides community events, half a dozen of which we have attended in various locations around the world. And because our own… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2019/05/book-your-vb2019-ticket-now-chance-win-ticket-bsides-london/

First 11 partners of VB2019 announced

We are excited to announce the first 11 companies to partner with VB2019, whose support will help ensure a great event.
The Virus Bulletin Conference is all about bringing the security community together to share intelligence and move the industry forward, but we wouldn't be able to do any of this… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2019/05/first-11-vb2019-partners-announced/

Paper: Alternative communication channel over NTP

In a new paper published today, independent researcher Nikolaos Tsapakis writes about the possibilities of malware using NTP as a covert communication channel and how to stop this.
Alternative communication channel over NTP Read the paper (HTML) Download the paper (PDF)   The use of DNS as a covert C&C communication channel has been widely documented… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2019/04/paper-alternative-communication-channel-over-ntp/

VB2019 conference programme announced

VB is excited to reveal the details of an interesting and diverse programme for VB2019, the 29th Virus Bulletin International Conference, which takes place 2-4 October in London, UK.
We are excited to announce the programme for VB2019, the 29th International Virus Bulletin Conference which will take place 2-4 October in London, UK. The conference… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2019/04/vb2019-conference-programme-announced/

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