If I remember correctly, vb uses a javascript trick when you login. You enter your username/password, click login, javascript encrypts the password, and only then is the user/pass sent to vb for login. Do a view source on the login page and you will see "A JavaScript implementation of the RSA Data Security" (or maybe it's in an included .js file). I think it might just be using MD5.
So all you have to do is MD5 the right strings before you pass them in with curl.
I'm not sure how this trick adds any security for them since a hacker is just as happy to login with the encrypted u/p as with the actual u/p but I haven't looked at their code for more than a few minutes.