What is a dusting attack?
A dusting attack (from English dust) is a type of attack where attackers send tiny amounts of cryptocurrency (literally 'dust') to users' wallets to try to deanonymize wallet owners. Although such amounts are often negligible and worthless, their goal is not to steal funds but to collect data.
Dusting attacks are particularly dangerous for those who value anonymity and privacy in the crypto world. They are aimed at analyzing user behavior and possibly linking addresses to a real person or company.
How does this work?
1. Dust distribution: the attacker sends a small amount of cryptocurrency (e.g., 0.000005 BTC) to many addresses.
2. Waiting for fund movement: once a user performs a transaction from these addresses, including 'dust' in one of the operations, it opens the way for analysis.
3. Blockchain analysis: using clustering methods, the attacker links different addresses and wallets together.
4. Attempt to deanonymize: by correlating the obtained data with information from other sources (e.g., leaks, KYC databases), the wallet owner can be identified.
Why is this a threat?
Although dusting transactions do not harm the wallet directly, their consequences can be serious:
Privacy violation.
Potential identity disclosure.
A security threat, especially for journalists, activists, and businesses.
Target for phishing and future attacks.
Known cases
In 2018, the Binance exchange publicly warned about a mass dusting attack on users for the first time.
Litecoin users have also faced distributions of microtransactions followed by analysis.
How to protect yourself?
1. Do not touch 'dust': if microtransactions appear in your wallet—do not use them.
2. Use multi-address wallets: such as Samourai, Wasabi, and others with CoinJoin mixing.
3. Keep an eye on wallet notifications: some wallets, like Trust Wallet or Electrum, may alert you to suspicious transactions.
4. Use new addresses: create a new address for each transaction if supported.
5. Do not reveal your address publicly: the less it appears in open sources, the better.
What to do if you become a victim?
Do not spend dust. This is the main point.
Transfer remaining funds to a new wallet.
Start using wallets that support privacy.
Report to the community or wallet support.
Conclusion
Dusting attacks are a quiet but real threat in the world of cryptocurrency. They do not directly steal money but can deprive the most valuable asset—anonymity. It is important not to ignore such details, as security in the crypto world often relies on attention to details.
