Polyglot | Breaking Cybersecurity News | The Hacker News

Cybersecurity researchers have called attention to a new antivirus evasion technique that involves embedding a malicious Microsoft Word file into a PDF file. The sneaky method, dubbed  MalDoc in PDF  by JPCERT/CC, is said to have been employed in an in-the-wild attack in July 2023. "A file created with MalDoc in PDF can be opened in Word even though it has magic numbers and file structure of PDF," researchers Yuma Masubuchi and Kota Kino  said . "If the file has a configured macro, by opening it in Word, VBS runs and performs malicious behaviors." Such specially crafted files are called  polyglots  as they are a legitimate form of multiple different file types, in this case, both PDF and Word (DOC). This entails adding an MHT file created in Word and with a macro attached after the PDF file object. The end result is a valid PDF file that can also be opened in the Word application. Put differently; the PDF document embeds within itself a Word document with a VB

Remote access trojans such as StrRAT and Ratty are being distributed as a combination of polyglot and malicious Java archive ( JAR ) files, once again highlighting how threat actors are continuously finding new ways to fly under the radar. "Attackers now use the polyglot technique to confuse security solutions that don't properly validate the JAR file format," Deep Instinct security researcher Simon Kenin  said  in a report. Polyglot files  are files that combine syntax from two or more different formats in a manner such that each format can be parsed without raising any error. One such 2022 campaign spotted by the cybersecurity firm involves the use of JAR and MSI formats – i.e., a file that's valid both as a JAR and an MSI installer – to deploy the StrRAT payload. This also means that the file can be executed by both Windows and Java Runtime Environment (JRE) based on how it's interpreted. Another instance involves the use of CAB and JAR polyglots to deli

Identities now transcend human boundaries. Within each line of code and every API call lies a non-human identity. These entities act as programmatic access keys, enabling authentication and facilitating interactions among systems and services, which are essential for every API call, database query, or storage account access. As we depend on multi-factor authentication and passwords to safeguard human identities, a pressing question arises: How do we guarantee the security and integrity of these non-human counterparts? How do we authenticate, authorize, and regulate access for entities devoid of life but crucial for the functioning of critical systems? Let's break it down. The challenge Imagine a cloud-native application as a bustling metropolis of tiny neighborhoods known as microservices, all neatly packed into containers. These microservices function akin to diligent worker bees, each diligently performing its designated task, be it processing data, verifying credentials, or