Blockchain Malware Commands Surge 440% Amid Rise of Unrestricted AI Models

The rise of unrestricted open-source AI models has led to a significant surge in blockchain malware commands, according to a recent report from Chainalysis. The firm found that malicious instructions written to blockchains increased by about 440% in less than a year, with the number of daily harmful on-chain writes rising from 2.06 to 11.1.

This technique, known as blockchain dead drops (BDDs), allows attackers to place malware payloads or command information inside blockchain transactions or smart contracts. Infected devices can then retrieve the information when required, exploiting the persistence of public blockchains.

Chainalysis attributed the acceleration in part to the availability of powerful Chinese open-weight AI models that could generate malicious code without technical restrictions. This reduced the barrier for operators to develop or modify malware and integrate it with blockchain-based communication mechanisms.