[Informatics] Data security - USB attack

[Mark]

You find a USB drive in your mailbox (a recent phenomenon in some Melbourne
suburbs), perhaps with inviting promises attached.

You plug it in to your computer. Because - hey! Free USB stick. That's
gotta be worth 50c.

...AND you're toast.

https://www.wired.com/2016/11/wickedly-clever-usb-stick-installs-backdoor-locked-pcs/

"Today Kamkar released the schematics and code for a proof-of-concept
device he calls PoisonTap: a tiny USB dongle that, whether plugged into a
locked or unlocked PC, installs a set of web-based backdoors that in many
cases allow an attacker to gain access to the victim’s online accounts,
corporate intranet sites, or even their router. Instead of exploiting any
glaring security flaw in a single piece of software, PoisonTap pulls off
its attack through a series of more subtle design issues that are present
in virtually every operating system and web browser, making the attack that
much harder to protect against."

Does *your* mailbox have a malware scanner?

-- 

Mark Kelly

mark at vceit.com
http://vceit.com
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.edulists.com.au/pipermail/informatics/attachments/20161118/a20ef8cd/attachment.html