Crypto Attacks
Hackers find new ways to perform a hack every day. They try not only to steal money, but also sensitive data. Or they just want to completely destroy a system by running a dangerous script. The blockchain is also aware of this danger: Many attacks have taken place in the past, of which the 51% attack is probably the best known. A fairly new attack is the Dusting Attack.
What is Dust?
Dust is a term that has been used in the crypto world for much longer before it became known by the Dusting Attack.
In the crypto-space, we call a very small amount of crypto coins or tokens dust. This amount is often so small that you do not even notice that you have it in your wallet.
In essence, you can poses as little of a cryptocurrency or token as possible. For example, in Bitcoin's case, it is possible to have 0.00000001 Bitcoin (BTC) in your possession. The value of this is almost $0. This number of Bitcoin is also the smallest amount of Bitcoin that you can own.
The moment you make a transaction on a crypto (centralized or decentralized) exchange, a small amount of the relevant coin or token may remain. On some exchanges it is possible to exchange this dust for the native token of the relevant exchange. For example, at Binance it is possible to exchange dust for BNB.
In the case of Bitcoin, we speak of dust when the outcome of a transaction is lower than the transaction costs. This is also referred to as the dust limit, which is calculated based on the input and output of a transaction. For typical Bitcoins transaction, which do not use SegWit, this is 546 satoshis. For SegWit transactions, this number is 294 satoshis.
When a transaction is less than the mentioned number of satoshis, you will not be able to complete the transaction, resulting in that dust will remain in your wallet.
Dusting Attacks
During a Dusting Attack, hackers try to steal crypto coins by means of dust. Many users do not even notice when there is dust in their wallet. That's why hackers send lots of small amounts of crypto coins and tokens to different addresses. They then monitor all these addresses. For example, they check whether the dust is sent to another wallet, which also belongs to the victim. By keeping track of all these wallets, they know which wallets and addresses belong to the victim.
They then use this information to carry out a phishing attack. For example, they can send you a link with a malicious script running behind it. The moment you click on the link, the attack is carried out, after which the hackers try to steal crypto coins and tokens from your wallet.
Where Dusting Attacks are performed
Generally, Dusting Attacks are performed on the Bitcoin network. However, attacks on Litecoin (LTC), Binance Coin (BNB) and several other crypto coins and tokens are also known.
How to recognize a Dusting Attack
It can happen that hackers try to carry out a Dusting Attack on you. For example, there were hackers who tried to carry out a Dusting Attack on the Binance crypto exchange in October 2020.
You can recognize a Dusting Attack by looking at the crypto coins you have received in your wallet. The moment you have received crypto coins from an address that you do not know, there is a good chance that it is a Dusting Attack attempt.
In some cases there is a link in the transaction, which usually is a phishing link. Of course, you should never open such links.
What to do in case of a Dusting Attack
Do you think there is a Dusting Attack attempt on you? Then you don't have to do anything. Just leave the crypto coins in your wallet and do not send them to another address that belongs to you. The most important rule is that you should never open a link that you do not trust.
Protecting yourself from a Dusting Attack
There are several measures you can take to protect yourself from a Dusting Attack. These measures also help you to protect yourself from other attacks.
As mentioned before, you should never just click on a link. If you don't know where a link will take you, don't click on it. It can always happen that a phishing attack is carried out. After all, there are enough cases from the past where many users have lost large amounts of crypto coins and tokens.
It is also important to install a virus scanner that scans your computer or laptop daily for viruses. If something has gone wrong, the virus scanner can ensure that the virus is cleaned up before it can cause damage. It is also advisable to use a VPN, so that your internet connection is extra protected against external influences.
To really protect yourself, it is recommended to use a hardware wallet, such as Trezor or Ledger because Dusting Attacks are usually carried out on hot wallets.
Other crypto attacks
The Dusting Attack is of course not the only attack known within the crypto world. There are different types of attacks, some of which are carried out on individuals, while others are carried out on the entire community of the blockchain.
Ransomware
Ransomware is becoming an increasing problem. Not only individuals, but also large companies have to deal with ransomware. You probably know that ransomware is a type of malware that can take over your entire computer.
The moment you have ransomware on your computer, all your files will be encrypted. That means you can't use them anymore unless you have the special key to decrypt them. And now the coincidence occurs that only the hackers have this key.
They want to give you the key, provided you transfer a certain amount of Bitcoin to them. This can vary between a few hundred to several thousand dollars. If you don't transfer the money for a certain amount of time, all your files will be destroyed for good.
You can protect yourself against ransomware by using a virus scanner and not just opening a link or downloading a file. It often happens that hackers send an email with, for example, an invoice. However, when you open the invoice, ransomware is downloaded. If you are not expecting a certain email, file or link, it is better not to click on it.
Cryptojacking
To understand this hack, it is important to understand how the mining process works. In cryptojacking, someone's computer is used to mine crypto.
Again, the victim must first download a file from the Internet. Then the file will ensure that the computer power of the victim is used to mine crypto for the hackers. They are also the only ones who will receive the rewards for mining the crypto.
With cryptojacking, you can also protect yourself by using a virus scanner and not just opening a link or downloading a file. You can just download a file without knowing anything about it.
51% attack
The previous discussed attacks are usually performed on individual users. However, there are also various attacks that are carried out on the entire blockchain. Of these, the 51% attack is the most well-known.
Within the blockchain network, a consensus is made when at least 51% of the network supports it. Imagine a miner has a block ready. Then the nodes in the network will check whether the block is valid. When at least 51% of the network agrees with the block, it will be added to the network.
This also means that when one person or organization controls at least 51% of the network, the entire blockchain can be controlled by this organization. In this way, transactions can be approved that should not actually be approved at all. In that case, the blockchain is completely corrupt.
With a 51% attack, the goal is not financial gain, but destruction of the blockchain. The moment a 51% attack is performed, the price of the relevant currency immediately collapses. There is therefore virtually no financial gain to be made by the hackers.
Luckily, the chance that such an attack will be successfully carried out on, for example, the Bitcoin or Ethereum blockchain is virtually nil. This is due to the large network that is behind these blockchains.
Conclusion
You should now have a better understanding of how frequent performed attacks such as Dusting Attacks, Cryptojacking, Ransomware and 51% attacks work. In order to not get rekt, make sure you:
- Don't open any links you don't trust.
- Never share your Private Key.
- Never share your seed phrase.