Tech Tips

Tech Tips for Non-Tech People!

USB Drive Exploit Warning

It has always been very risky to plug a USB drive into your computer if you don’t know anything about it, but it’s now downright dangerous.

Strange USB drives have always had the potential of spreading malware and viruses but general speaking, an updated security program should detect and block any threats.

But a recent exploit demonstrated at the annual Black Hat Security Conference showed a way for hackers to modify the firmware on USB devices that allows malware to hide.

This type of exploit is undetectable by general security programs and it’s virtually un-patchable, meaning there is no easy way to fix the design flaw that allows this to be used.

With this in mind, it is imperative that you avoid using any USB drive that you don’t own and you should never plug in a USB drive that someone else may have lost.

If you take a minute to think like a hacker, dropping infected USB drives around college campuses or high target businesses can make it easy to gain access inside secured systems.

The fact that this undetectable exploit exists, requires all of us to be very suspicious of any USB drive, especially if it’s origins are unknown.

Businesses should especially be aware and warn their employees about strange USB drive usage.