(Security Affairs – USBKiller 2.0, Physical security)
Pierluigi Paganini
December 02, 2016
Ill-intentioned could destroy everything using the USBKill device, including gaming console (Xbox One, PS4), mobile devices, Google Pixel and also circuits in modern cars.
The USBKill is manufactured by the Hong Kong-based technology manufacturer USBKill.com, it is a USB dongle that is able to fry any computer into which it’s plugged by using an electrical discharge. The attack is simple, the USBKill use to charge capacitors from the USB power supply, and then discharges 200 volts DC over the host device.
The designer of the USB Kill presented a prototype last year, the USB device was able to destroy a laptop in a few seconds. Now they have presented the USBkill 2.0, a final release that is commercialized by USB KILL.com team.
“Our tests reveal that more than 95% of all devices using USB ports will be damaged permanently or completely destroyed by a USB power surge attack”. explained the researchers behind the project that explained they created the USB kill 2.0 for testing purposes. The unique device that passed the tests is the latest version of Apple’s MacBook, which uses surge-protected USB ports.
The company warns it has been “designed and tested to be safe,”, it “is a high-voltage device — it is not a toy — and is only intended for responsible adults.”
Hardware developers could use the USB device to evaluate the resilience of their machine against such kind of “devastating power surge attacks” and to prevent data theft via “juice jacking.”
It is very simple to destroy any device as shown in the following videos:
The unique devices that survived the tests are the latest version of Apple’s MacBook, which uses surge-protected USB ports, the iPad Pro and the Beats headphones. Apple’s iPhone 7 Plus.
The above videos demonstrate that is possible to kill a wide range of devices with the USBKill dongle. According to El Reg, the creator of the USBKill, “Dark_Purple,” confirmed that a number of unnamed car manufacturers have purchased the dongle to test the USB ports of their vehicles.
The following video shows an individual plugging the USBKill into his own car frying the dashboard head unit.
Watch out! USB ports are everywhere!
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(Security Affairs – USBKiller 2.0, Physical security)
