DNS Errors and Malware Builders Turning on Attackers

Breaking Badness

In this episode of Breaking Badness, we analyze two fascinating cybersecurity incidents that expose both corporate misconfigurations and hacker missteps. Security researcher Philippe Caturegli discovered a typo in MasterCard’s DNS records, which left the company open to traffic hijacking and data exposure. This long-overlooked flaw, dating back years, could have been exploited by attackers to redirect users, intercept data, and manipulate services. The Script Kiddie Trap: In a turn of events that underscores the “no honor among thieves” trope, a threat actor baited low-skilled hackers (script kiddies) with a fake malware builder. Instead of gaining hacking capabilities, they unwittingly installed a backdoor on their own machines, allowing the original attacker to steal their data and take control of their systems.