Securonix, a security analytics and operations management platform, has discovered a new computer security threat.

that utilizes the James Webb Space Telescope's first public image, SMACS 0723

as a component in its impressively complex malware campaign.

Dubbed “GO#WEBBFUSCATOR,”

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the multistep attack first originates as a typical phishing email containing a file made to look like Microsoft Office document attachment.

If a user has certain Word macros enabled, the program will run after downloading.

Then it downloads another file—in this case, the Webb Telescope's SMACS 0723 photo with a Base64 code.

Once executed, the malware performs various tests to identify a computer's weaknesses, which the hackers can then exploit.

Although GO#WEBBFUSCATOR's end-goal remains unclear, it's still a particularly nasty and ingenious way to infect countless victim's device

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