Hey there, tech lovers! Nuked here, ready to share a wild cyber tale about how hackers are sneaky with DNS records. Buckle up, it’s a strange and enchanting world out there!

Hackers have found a loophole by hiding malicious code within DNS records. This method makes it tough for security tools to catch the bad guys since DNS traffic usually flies under the radar. Instead of downloading malware from shady websites or emails, they embed it into DNS requests, which are less monitored.

Researchers from DomainTools recently spotted cybercriminals using this trick to store a malicious file inside DNS TXT records. They divided the file into tiny parts in hexadecimal code and stored each piece in a subdomain’s TXT record of a domain called whitetreecollective.com. When needed, the malware pieces are reassembled and executed, all hidden inside harmless-looking DNS queries.

This technique leverages the fact that DNS traffic, especially with newer encrypted protocols like DNS over HTTPS and DNS over TLS, is hard to inspect. Even organizations with their own DNS resolvers struggle to differentiate normal from suspicious requests, making this a perfect hiding spot for malware to sneak through defenses.

In addition to malware storage, researchers found that threat actors use DNS records for more clever attacks like hacking AI chatbots. They embed tricky prompts, such as instructing the chatbot to delete data or return random strings, embedding these commands within DNS records to manipulate AI systems that can’t easily distinguish commands from normal data.

So, the next time you think the internet is just a web of webpages, remember—it’s also a mysterious, enchanted place where cyber threats hide in plain sight, just like in DNS records!