GoKawiilCarbonato Botnet Deploys AI Agents Inside Hijacked Docker Hosts
ThreatDown researchers identified a botnet called Carbonato that targets Docker servers with exposed, unauthenticated daemons on port 2375. After gaining access, attackers launch a privileged container, install a persistent SSH backdoor, and embed an AI agent built on the open-source Hermes Agent framework that receives commands via Telegram and harvests stolen credentials. The infrastructure, exposed since May, was also linked to a separate operation distributing trojanized cryptocurrency wallet apps.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
Embedding an AI agent directly into compromised infrastructure could let attackers issue flexible, natural-language instructions rather than relying on rigid pre-scripted malware, potentially making command-and-control more adaptable. The reuse of an MIT-licensed open-source framework also shows how freely available AI tooling can be repurposed for offensive operations with minimal engineering effort. The link to a separate wallet-trojan campaign suggests shared attacker infrastructure may be supporting multiple parallel schemes.
- Carbonato targets Docker hosts with unauthenticated daemons exposed on port 2375.
- It installs an AI agent based on the open-source Hermes Agent to execute Telegram-issued commands and steal credentials.
- The attacker infrastructure was also tied to a separate operation distributing trojanized crypto wallet apps.
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Published there as: “Carbonato Botnet Puts an AI Agent on Hacked Docker Hosts”
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