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Former student destroys 59 university computers using USB Killer device

zdnet.com

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Re: Former student destroys 59 university computers using USB Killer device

#131

Post by ProblemFactory »

gruez wrote: post #22
stadeschuldt wrote: post #5

I am looking at https://usbkill.com/ . What is the purpose of the device? The manufacturer calls it an "ESD tester" yet there is an "anonymous" version available: https://usbkill.com/products/usb-killer-v3?variant=447760856...

>The manufacturer calls it an "ESD tester" yet there is an "anonymous" version available plausible deniability. selling devices specifically for committing crimes is illegal. that's why all the bong shops say it's "for tobacco use only".

> plausible deniability.

Why would that be necessary?

Jackhammers are tools to destroy pavement. But nobody sells jackhammers as "ground strength testing tools".

These are tools to destroy computers. Both are completely legal as long as you are not destroying someone else's property without permission.

Re: Former student destroys 59 university computers using USB Killer device

#132

Post by vortico »

jwilk wrote: post #123
hprotagonist wrote: post #18

Long ago, I worked for my uni's departmental IT group. We made our own etherkiller, hung it on the wall with a sign "USE IN CASE OF SUN". Never used it in anger, but it was fun to dream about...

> USE IN CASE OF SUN What does it mean?

Sun Microsystems maybe?

Re: Former student destroys 59 university computers using USB Killer device

#133

Post by Someone »

aSockPuppeteer wrote: post #65
stadeschuldt wrote: post #5

I am looking at https://usbkill.com/ . What is the purpose of the device? The manufacturer calls it an "ESD tester" yet there is an "anonymous" version available: https://usbkill.com/products/usb-killer-v3?variant=447760856...

It may be designed for a cut and run approach. For example, about to crash in enemy territory, brick all the computers.

In that case, you want to do a lot more than brick it; you want to destroy disks, ROM, and in many cases even PCB boards.

Explosives will destroy, but recognizable parts will survive. Your safest bet probably is burning your computer, fast and thoroughly.

I think white phosphorous is a popular choice for this kind of thing because it’s relatively easy and safe to transport, store, and deploy (compared to, say, strong acids such as aqua regia)

Re: Former student destroys 59 university computers using USB Killer device

#134

Post by agumonkey »

there used to be a thing called usb condom https://duckduckgo.com/?q=usb+condom&atb=v119-3__&ia=web

to cut data lines altogether IIRC

I guess we need a new kind of condom with all lines protected for surges

ps: there are also these https://www.alibaba.com/countrysearch/CN/usb+isolation+modul...

Re: Former student destroys 59 university computers using USB Killer device

#135

Post by tastroder »

ProblemFactory wrote: post #131
gruez wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>The manufacturer calls it an "ESD tester" yet there is an "anonymous" version available plausible deniability. selling devices specifically for committing crimes is illegal. that's why all the bong shops say it's "for tobacco use only".

> plausible deniability. Why would that be necessary? Jackhammers are tools to destroy pavement. But nobody sells jackhammers as "ground strength testing tools". These are tools to destroy computers. Both are completely legal as long as you are not destroying someone else's property without permission.

That highly depends on the jurisdiction you're operating in / selling to.

While I'm not aware if anybody has ever been convicted for weirdly defined laws like that we for example have a "hacking paragraph" in Germany that outlaws software for the sole purpose of computer crimes. I'd imagine the UK has similar legal areas in lieu of their recent "kitchen knives are dangerous weapons, sometimes" controversy. It's not that hard to imagine somebody going after the manufacturer of such hardware and that blurb (or the ever famous "for educational purposes only") give them something to reasonably distance themselves from a user's actions.

Re: Former student destroys 59 university computers using USB Killer device

#136

Post by chrisswanda »

interfixus wrote: post #81
acchow wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"-200VDC is discharged over the data lines of the host device. This charge/discharge cycle is repeated many times per second, until the USB Killer is removed" Is there any device that is supposed to survive this? In other news, throwing your computer in a fire also reveals a serious vulnerability.

> Is there any device that is supposed to survive this? There used to be... As a boy - and this is many, many years ago - I once, ehm, accidentally connected the external speaker-plug on an old vacuum tube household radio to the 220V mains. A very loud bang, and the house went dark. The radio, however, was fine, although with an interesting new tonal slant to everything.

As a young man, I grabbed a 6146B tube before it discharged. I felt fine, until the pain started.

Re: Former student destroys 59 university computers using USB Killer device

#137

Post by gduplessy »

vortico wrote: post #127
subway wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you use that word again, we'll have to ask you to leave. They're water pipes .

Totally off-topic question to this thread, but what's the reason for being kicked out of those stores for saying "bong"? I would have guessed that as long as employees don't use the term, it's fine for the company for the customers to suggest what they'll actually be using it for.

Going to throw out a guess and say it's because selling you an item after you called it a bong is admitting that it's indeed a bong.

Re: Former student destroys 59 university computers using USB Killer device

#138

Post by waterhouse »

tjohns wrote: post #84
Dylan16807 wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm curious how the damage breaks down, because it sounds like a lot of that damage might have been him destroying just a motherboard and then the entire computer being written off.

Corporate/university IT shops don't normally do component-level replacement. Both due to time constraints and the nature of their support contacts. (Assuming the Dell/HP/etc. workstations they bought even take standard size motherboards. I've seen some that don't.)

Well, with the cost of finding a specialist amortized over 59 computers, surely it becomes worth it at that point.

Re: Former student destroys 59 university computers using USB Killer device

#139

Post by foxrider »

waterhouse wrote: post #138
tjohns wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Corporate/university IT shops don't normally do component-level replacement. Both due to time constraints and the nature of their support contacts. (Assuming the Dell/HP/etc. workstations they bought even take standard size motherboards. I've seen some that don't.)

Well, with the cost of finding a specialist amortized over 59 computers, surely it becomes worth it at that point.

Corporations and big organizations don't think like regular people. Yes you can repair the computers saving money, but now there would be no support from the OEM, and they would have at least two different systems - the repaired ones and the working ones, because I don't think that motherboards for custom office PCs they have (like HP or DELL PCs) are off the shelf. I have an old compaq PC I upcycled as a home server, everything inside is built to fit together and be very reliable, it is nowhere close a typical PC build. The motherboard isn't even square.

Re: Former student destroys 59 university computers using USB Killer device

#140

Post by tonyedgecombe »

kmlx wrote: post #125
tluyben2 wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When we (Dutch) ask in school why our sentences are so low, it is explained that if the punishment does not fit the crime, you will be incentivized to add more crime because you are already facing prison time, so why would you care about a few years more or less. Aka if the crime for rape is almost the same as murder you might as well kill the victim to have less chance of being caught. We have not a lot of crime and…

here's an example that disputes your assumption: Japan has much less criminality than NL, and has one of the harshest prison systems in the world. you can leave your expensive bicycle unlocked on a crowded tokyo street and no-one's going to touch it. you can leave your expensive apartment completely unsecured and no-one's going to get it. they even still have the baggage lockers all across their subway. a lot of this…

I'm not sure Japan is a good comparison, it is so different culturally that you can't read much into the differences.
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