AI Fuels 440% Surge in Hackers Using Blockchains for Malware Attacks
Open-source artificial intelligence is contributing to a significant increase in cyberattacks, with hackers increasingly using blockchains to hide malicious code. A report by blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis indicates a 440% surge in instances of malware instructions written into on-chain transactions and smart contracts in less than a year, averaging 11 cases per day. This represents a substantial increase from the previous average of two cases per day before the release of powerful Chinese open-source AI models without restrictions on generating malicious code. Hackers are employing a technique known as a 'blockchain dead drop,' where they use a blockchain to relay critical information for malware, such as the location of its command-and-control server. This method makes attacks harder to stop because information recorded on a blockchain is immutable. State-backed groups, particularly those linked to North Korea and Iran, are now responsible for the majority of this activity, finding blockchains app...
