Fungible Threats - Exploiting Distributed Data Replication Systems for Malicious Purposes

Explore how distributed data replication systems can be weaponized for malicious purposes in this 32-minute conference talk from DEF CON 33's Data Duplication Village. Discover how technologies like NFTs, IPFS, Codex, When FS, and Cloudflare R2 buckets extend beyond their intended redundancy functions to become resilient command and control (C2) infrastructures, payload delivery systems, and phishing hosting platforms that effectively challenge traditional takedown efforts. Learn through practical demonstrations how these distributed systems can store and distribute C2 commands, malicious payloads, and comprehensive phishing campaigns including templates and client-side drainers. Gain insights into the evolving landscape of fungible threats and understand how attackers leverage the inherent resilience of distributed data replication to create persistent and difficult-to-eliminate attack infrastructures that exploit the decentralized nature of modern data storage and distribution technologies.