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USB Killer

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Re: USB Killer

#91

Post by brankso »

rplnt wrote: post #42
junto wrote: post #37

Reminds me of a story I heard many years ago. UK power plugs have three prongs to include earth. If you rewire earth, live and neutral AND alter the plug wall socket to match, then all is well, but if someone steals your PC then plugs it in using a standard wall socket then ouch.

I lived in a place where someone managed to swap wires at one of the switchboards. There was no ground (not that uncommon), so the supposed 0 was wired to the ground at the sockets (that's what you should do). What it means with German/French-combo style socket is that phase (+/-230V AC) was wired to metal parts sticking out of a socket or any grounded appliance plugged in. Everything plugged into affected sockets se…

I used to work in a school where students reported electric shocks from the laptop computers. The "electrician" came and unbelievably, wrapped a wire round the earth pin of a plug, and bolted the other end to a desk. Apparently it solved the electric shock problem which I guess was static.

Re: USB Killer

#92

Post by renaudr »

what about making it a normal usb drive as well. let me explain: when one inserts the drive, one gets asked for a password. if you type the wrong password, the usb drive shows you some fake content, and in the background “burns down” everything it can. if you are the owner and type the right password, you can use the usb drive normally

Re: USB Killer

#93

Post by agumonkey »

Last year, I found a usb key on the ground, almost busted, still I'm too curious to know what's in it so I bring it home. Plug it in, then I learn a little more about the USB protocol as the kernel notifies me there's an "Over-current condition on port 3", just before a tiny bit of smoke emerges from the key.

Re: USB Killer

#94

Post by __m »

Smerity wrote: post #22

Someone joked that this would be useful to ensure people won't randomly plug USB drives into their computers. Sounds insane, except that... "During a stop-over in Hong Kong, he finds a spare USB key in his hotel room. Curious, he inserts it into his laptop. By the time he arrives in Australia, his computer is infected."[1] This was the one of the infection vectors for a large flare-up between the Chinese government a…

Another option would be to just tell them and not play games with them.

Re: USB Killer

#95

Post by leni536 »

Ouch. Not a traditional attack one would expect on a USB port. Would be there any practical protection against this (surge protector, fuse)?

Re: USB Killer

#96

Post by talideon »

lucian1900 wrote: post #65
philjohn wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They're ugly as hell, and insanely painful if you tread on them, but UK plugs are a bastion of good engineering. Things like not being able to stick things into the line/neutral holes unless the ground pin (which is longer) is inserted make them very safe, and the plastic lower part of the line/neutral pins to stop you accidentally touching something that will have current running through it until the plug is safely…

They are however no safer than Schuko plugs, which are significantly less annoying.

We used to use Schuko plugs here in Ireland, but switched to type G plugs for convenience and trade reasons back in the '60s. I think my grandparents' house still had some Schuko sockets about the place.

Personally, I'm not too bothered either way. I don't find either any more or less annoying as they're both pretty bulky, unless you're using Europlugs, which lack most of the benefits of Schuko plugs.

Still nothing compares in its awfulness to North American plugs. Aussie plugs are similar, but they had the good sense to tilt the prongs at an angle to give the plug better mechanical stability.

Re: USB Killer

#97

Post by swombat »

vjvj wrote: post #76
swombat wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Swiss person here. The total length of the "plug" part of a swiss plug is actually roundabout the same as the width of a british plug. They fit just fine behind couches, shelves, etc.

And as seen here ( http://www.worldstandards.eu/electricity/plugs-and-sockets/j... ) the socket is indented into the wall so less of the cable protrudes beyond the flat surface of the wall.

That's not always the case - but it frequently is, and yes, does make the direction of the cable even less of an issue!

Re: USB Killer

#98

Post by 13 »

comboy wrote: post #58
13 wrote: post #12

I tried to do one better with a small flyback transformer. https://gfycat.com/GlaringGrimCondor Turns out there's not enough clearance in USB ports for tens of thousands of volts.

Nice! But I'm guessing you wouldn't be able to fit that into a size that's comparable with standard USB drive?

Possible at a pinch, the flyback I was using right there was about the size of a walnut. You could lay most of it out flat with the voltage multiplier and encase the whole thing in epoxy for (ha) safety.

I really wanted to go much higher with the voltages, but the amount of noise this thing puts out de-focuses the camera.

Re: USB Killer

#99

Post by Smerity »

__m wrote: post #94
Smerity wrote: post #22

Someone joked that this would be useful to ensure people won't randomly plug USB drives into their computers. Sounds insane, except that... "During a stop-over in Hong Kong, he finds a spare USB key in his hotel room. Curious, he inserts it into his laptop. By the time he arrives in Australia, his computer is infected."[1] This was the one of the infection vectors for a large flare-up between the Chinese government a…

Another option would be to just tell them and not play games with them.

Whilst an option, I feel it's a bad one if security is actually a priority.

Having worked at companies who actually have a high level concern over computer security, telling someone simply isn't enough. Being told is passive. Passive defence and active defence are two entirely different states of mind. Defending against an attack needs to be active and instinctual. Every time you open, close, or set down your laptop, a small part of your brain should be thinking about it. In computer security, a single failure is enough to lose control, so it's useful to have an environment that reflects that.

A simple example is being told to keep your terminal locked. This is a common rule for most workplaces but is usually met with dismal failure. One of the companies I worked at actually made a game out of leaving your terminal unlocked. I can tell you, after a few days of your colleagues kindly laughing at you returning to a screen full of Internet memes, you instinctively Ctrl + L upon standing up, even if it's to walk to the windows to look at the view.

Why is it important I lock the screen even if standing a metre away? My friend walks by whilst I'm staring at the view and invites me to [coffee|walk|game|X]. Security has already left your mind and you head off to do [X], leaving your terminal unlocked. Even worse, your screen might auto-lock in a few minutes, giving you a false sense of security when you return. Even if it was unlocked when you returned, you'd likely get back to work, not realizing your error.

Making security a game is a good way of instilling the practice. Colleagues make for cunning adversaries and make you actively defend yourself. This defence is useful against both pretend threats and real ones. Wargames are wargames for a reason.

Re: USB Killer

#100

Post by ptaipale »

Smerity wrote: post #22

Someone joked that this would be useful to ensure people won't randomly plug USB drives into their computers. Sounds insane, except that... "During a stop-over in Hong Kong, he finds a spare USB key in his hotel room. Curious, he inserts it into his laptop. By the time he arrives in Australia, his computer is infected."[1] This was the one of the infection vectors for a large flare-up between the Chinese government a…

A standard procedure in somewhat-security-concerned firms is that when you travel, you go and get a freshly installed travel laptop (a loaner) from IT dept, use it on the trip, and after the trip, you return it to the department that wipes out everything on the disk and re-images it.

This wouldn't protect against things like firmware-based malware, attacks that major three-letter spy agencies could deploy when they focus on a target, but because there is no absolute security and measures need to be balanced to the threat scenario, this is a model that works pretty well.

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