Tag: cyber espionage
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VB2019 presentation: Attor: spy platform with curious GSM fingerprinting
Attor is a newly discovered cyber-espionage platform, use of which dates back to at least 2014 and which focuses on diplomatic missions and governmental institutions. The modular malware searches specifically for TrueCrypt ‑protected hard drives and the processes of specific VPN applications, suggesting a special interest in security-focused users. The most notable plug-in is one…
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VB2019 paper: A study of Machete cyber espionage operations in Latin America
Latin America has long been a hotbed for cybercrime, but the region has also seen the activity of various APT groups. One of these groups makes use of ‘Machete’, a Python-based toolset. Machete dates back at least nine years and was first written about by Kaspersky in 2014. In August of this year, ESET published…
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VB2019 preview: A study of Machete cyber espionage operations in Latin America
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 and its Five Eyes allies, there is plenty of nation-state activity happening elsewhere, including South Asia, Southeast Asia and Latin America. One of the most prominent Latin…
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VB2019 preview: A study of Machete cyber espionage operations in Latin America
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 and its Five Eyes allies, there is plenty of nation-state activity happening elsewhere, including South Asia, Southeast Asia and Latin America. One of the most prominent Latin…
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VB2018: last-minute talks announced
With a little over three weeks to go until the start of VB2018 , 28th Virus Bulletin Conference, we are excited to announce ten last-minute talks that cover hot research. Nation-state & cyber espionage attacks Nation-state attacks and cyber espionage continue to be hot topics in cybersecurity, and this is reflected in several last-minute papers.…
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VB2018: last-minute talks announced
With a little over three weeks to go until the start of VB2018 , 28th Virus Bulletin Conference, we are excited to announce ten last-minute talks that cover hot research. Nation-state & cyber espionage attacks Nation-state attacks and cyber espionage continue to be hot topics in cybersecurity, and this is reflected in several last-minute papers.…
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Volatile Cedar campaign – cyber espionage isn’t just for large nation states
Details of malware to be discussed at VB2015. Researchers at Check Point have revealed details of a cyber-espionage campaign, dubbed ‘Volatile Cedar’, that has been active since at least 2012. The campaign, whose motive appears to be political rather than financial, revolves around a custom-made remote access trojan named ‘Explosive’, which is separated into a…
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India believed to be source of sophisticated surveillance campaigns
In-depth investigations find widespread worldwide snooping, Pakistan primary target. Several reports have emerged recently covering a highly organised campaign of targeted espionage malware that has been seen in many countries around the world and stealing data from many industries. Close investigation has provided strong hints that the campaign originated in India, with Pakistan the most…
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Hundreds of APTs linked to Chinese Army department
‘Unit 61398’ employs hundreds of people. A new report by security firm Mandiant links a large number of cyber-espionage cases to a department of the Chinese army. The report is far from the first to point to China as the source of many targeted attacks. However, it would be too easy to dismiss the report…
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Flame worm one of the most complex threats ever discovered
Malware possibly used for cyber-espionage. The jury is out on whether ‘Flame’ (also known as ‘Flamer’ or ‘Skywiper’) is ‘the most lethal cyberweapon to date’ as some have claimed , or just a highly complex and sophisticated piece of malware. But simply from looking at the volume of security vendors’ blog posts dedicated to the…