Infosecurity Magazine

Aeternum Botnet Shifts Command Control to Polygon Blockchain

Aeternum, a newly discovered botnet loader, has moved its command‑and‑control (C2) infrastructure onto the Polygon blockchain, using smart contracts to issue instructions. By writing commands as immutable blockchain transactions, the botnet eliminates the traditional servers and domains that law‑enforcement typically target. The system supports rapid payload delivery—including stealers, miners, and remote‑access tools—within minutes, and operates at a cost of roughly $1 in MATIC for 100‑150 commands. This architecture fundamentally changes how malicious networks can persist and scale.