Bitcoin Dusting Attack Shows Increasing Privacy Threats in Cryptocurrency
A new attack on Bitcoin’s privacy may result in user addresses being linked, emphasizing the need for increased focus on privacy in the modern cryptocurrency age.
Dubbed the “dusting attack,” the specific attack works by sending small amounts of funds to a wide range of addresses, and then watching the movement of those funds on the blockchain. When those inputs are combined with other addresses, the addresses are linked together, allowing attackers to group addresses and move closer to de-anonymizing users. To mitigate this, the Samourai Wallet recommended using coin control to manually lock the offending input to avoid spending it, a feature also available in many core cryptocurrency clients:
