The term dust attack refers to a type of attack targeting cryptocurrency wallets, which aims to reveal the identity of a wallet owner to apply scams and blackmail to the user. ESET, a threat detection company, analyzes these types of attacks and provides recommendations to prevent new victims.
In these cases, an attacker performs massive transactions, known as dust (dust in English) of low values, which may even go unnoticed by the person in charge of the cryptographic wallet. From the analysis and monitoring of these transactions, cybercriminals try to discover the identity of the investor. This attack, unlike others that threaten cryptocurrencies, aims to cause harm to wallet owners.
The concept of dust refers to a minimal amount in digital currencies that is usually left as residue after a transaction between two wallets. This amount varies depending on the cryptocurrency. For example, at the time of publication of this information, most wallets understand the bitcoin dust limit to be 0.00000547 BTC, which is equivalent to about $0.10. Therefore, any value less than this is considered “dust“.
These transactions, without apparent value, also leave a mark on the account. Therefore, cybercriminals try to exploit the information of such account. By making these transfers, scammers obtain data from the wallet, which is crossed with other information obtained from other techniques, such as web scraping, allowing them to discover the real identity of the owner..
To better understand how to avoid a dust attack, the ESET research team took a step-by-step look at how it works:
Recognition: In this step, the cybercriminal delimits certain aspects to carry out the attack. First, a list of targets is created, usually called “Whales“. Victims can be choose based on the amount of cryptocurrency, as well as personal or political goals. With the desired wallets in hand, scammers need to know the limit of each coin and wallet in order to consider a transaction as dust and thus have these funds in their own wallets. Typically, these attacks are carried out on a massive scale, which may require a small but considerable amount of crypto..
Execution: after putting together this target list, cybercriminals start sending multiple transactions in minimal amounts, randomly to avoid arousing suspicion from victims. This is the beginning of the dust attack. Then, the attackers initiate a complete analysis of the information and data such as: metadata, posts, online appearances, among others. This analysis is not only done on the blockchain itself, but also on any website that might be related to cryptocurrencies, exchanges, wallets, or even the target.
Billing: After obtaining the real identity of the victims and, in some cases, personal and private information, the stage begins in which cybercriminals obtain the “fruit” of the attack. And like any theft of personal information, this often leads to specially targeted phishing attacks, credential theft via brute force attacks, etc. This is where cybercriminals make their money, either by stealing from their victims or by selling their personal data.
“In addition to the consequences already mentioned, there is also the possibility of the victim’s wallet being marked as ‘spam’ or ‘potentially malicious’ by those who handle it, which could result in another consequence for the victim: the loss of their assets. cryptographic”, says Martina López, ESET Information Security Researcher.
Preventing these types of attacks can seem complex, since it is the combination of the publicity of the transactions and the information that is left of them that makes an attack possible. However, ESET has some recommendations to reduce the risk of becoming a victim:
- Take care of personal data– Dust attacks are not possible without associating the identity of the victim by searching for their personal information. Data such as personal emails, phone numbers, full names, and government identifiers are some of the data most sought after by cybercriminals.
- Monitor incoming and outgoing wallet transactions: If small securities transactions are detected, you could be a victim. Given this, use the mechanisms provided by wallet services to report transactions.
- Avoid overexposing addresses of the wallets and not reuse those that have already been publicly exposed.
- Storing crypto assets in wallet services that have some kind of protection against these attacks. An example of them are Samurai and Wasabi, two wallets created with the aim of strongly anonymizing the entire cryptocurrency exchange process.
Disclaimer: The information and/or opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views or editorial line of Cointelegraph. The information presented here should not be taken as financial advice or investment recommendation. All investment and commercial movement involve risks and it is the responsibility of each person to do their due research before making an investment decision.
It may interest you:
Investments in crypto assets are not regulated. They may not be suitable for retail investors and the entire amount invested may be lost. The services or products offered are not directed or accessible to investors in Spain.