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7 New Flaws Affect All Thunderbolt-equipped Computers Sold in the Last 9 Years

7 New Flaws Affect All Thunderbolt-equipped Computers Sold in the Last 9 Years

May 11, 2020
A cybersecurity researcher today uncovers a set of 7 new unpatchable hardware vulnerabilities that affect all desktops and laptops sold in the past 9 years with Thunderbolt, or Thunderbolt-compatible USB-C ports. Collectively dubbed 'ThunderSpy,' the vulnerabilities can be exploited in 9 realistic evil-maid attack scenarios, primarily to steal data or read/write all of the system memory of a locked or sleeping computer—even when drives are protected with full disk encryption. In a nutshell, if you think someone with a few minutes of physical access to your computer—regardless of the location—can cause any form of significant harm to you, you're at risk for an evil maid attack. According to Björn Ruytenberg of the Eindhoven University of Technology, the ThunderSpy attack "may require opening a target laptop's case with a screwdriver, [but] it leaves no trace of intrusion and can be pulled off in just a few minutes." In other words, the flaw is not li...
Beware — Someone is dropping Malware-infected USB Sticks into People's Letterbox

Beware — Someone is dropping Malware-infected USB Sticks into People's Letterbox

Sep 22, 2016
Hey! Wait! Wait! Wait! Don't plug in that USB stick into your laptop. It could infect your computer with malware and viruses. Australia's Victoria Police Force has issued a warning regarding unmarked USB flash drives containing harmful malware being dropped inside random people's letterboxes in the Melbourne suburb of Pakenham. It seems to one of the latest tactics of cyber criminals to target people by dropping malware-laden USB sticks into their mailboxes, in the hope unsuspecting users will plug the infected devices into their personal or home computers. The warning, published on the official website of the Victoria Police, one of Australia's state police departments, reads: "Members of the public are allegedly finding unmarked USB drives in their letterboxes. Upon inserting the USB drives into their computers victims have experienced fraudulent media streaming service offers, as well as other serious issues [malware]. The USB drives are belie...
7 PAM Best Practices to Secure Hybrid and Multi-Cloud Environments

7 PAM Best Practices to Secure Hybrid and Multi-Cloud Environments

Dec 04, 2024Risk Management / Zero Trust
Are you using the cloud or thinking about transitioning? Undoubtedly, multi-cloud and hybrid environments offer numerous benefits for organizations. However, the cloud's flexibility, scalability, and efficiency come with significant risk — an expanded attack surface. The decentralization that comes with utilizing multi-cloud environments can also lead to limited visibility into user activity and poor access management.  Privileged accounts with access to your critical systems and sensitive data are among the most vulnerable elements in cloud setups. When mismanaged, these accounts open the doors to unauthorized access, potential malicious activity, and data breaches. That's why strong privileged access management (PAM) is indispensable. PAM plays an essential role in addressing the security challenges of complex infrastructures by enforcing strict access controls and managing the life cycle of privileged accounts. By employing PAM in hybrid and cloud environments, you're not...
Oh, It's On Sale! USB Kill to Destroy any Computer within Seconds

Oh, It's On Sale! USB Kill to Destroy any Computer within Seconds

Sep 09, 2016
Remember Killer USB stick ? A proof-of-concept USB prototype that was designed by a Russian researcher, Dark Purple, last year, to effectively destroy sensitive components of a computer when plugged in. Now, someone has actually created the Killer USB stick that destroys almost anything – such as Laptops, PCs, or televisions – it is plugged into. A Hong Kong-based technology manufacturer is selling a USB thumb drive called USB Kill 2.0 that can fry any unauthorized computer it's plugged into by introducing a power surge via the USB port. It costs $49.95 . How does USB Kill 2.0 work? As the company explains, when plugged in, the USB Kill 2.0 stick rapidly charges its capacitors via the USB power supply, and then discharges – all in a matter of seconds. The USB stick discharges 200 volts DC power over the data lines of the host machine and this charge-and-discharge cycle is repeated several numbers of times in just one second, until the USB Kill stick is removed. ...
cyber security

The AppSec & R&D Playbook: How to Align Security and Innovation

websiteBackslashApplication Security
AppSec vs. R&D? Bridge the gap with clear steps to streamline workflows and foster collaboration.
Here’s How to Hack Windows/Mac OS X Login Password (When Locked)

Here's How to Hack Windows/Mac OS X Login Password (When Locked)

Sep 07, 2016
A Security researcher has discovered a unique attack method that can be used to steal credentials from a locked computer ( but, logged-in ) and works on both Windows as well as Mac OS X systems. In his blog post published today, security expert Rob Fuller demonstrated and explained how to exploit a USB SoC-based device to turn it into a credential-sniffer that works even on a locked computer or laptop. Fuller modified the firmware code of USB dongle in such a way that when it is plugged into an Ethernet adapter, the plug-and-play USB device installs and acts itself as the network gateway, DNS server, and Web Proxy Auto-discovery Protocol (WPAD) server for the victim's machine. The attack is possible because most PCs automatically install Plug-and-Play USB devices, meaning "even if a system is locked out, the device [dongle] still gets installed," Fuller explains in his blog post . "Now, I believe there are restrictions on what types of devices are allowed to...
WebUSB API — Connect Your USB Devices Securely to the Internet

WebUSB API — Connect Your USB Devices Securely to the Internet

Apr 12, 2016
Two Google engineers have developed a draft version of an API called WebUSB that would allow you to connect your USB devices to the Web safely and securely, bypassing the need for native drivers. WebUSB – developed by Reilly Grant and Ken Rockot – has been introduced to the World Wide Web Consortium's Web Incubator Community Group (W3C WICG), is build to offer a universal platform that could be adopted by browser makers in future versions of their software. Connecting USB Devices to the Web WebUSB API allows USB-connected devices, from keyboards, mice, 3D printers and hard drives to complex Internet of Things (IoTs) appliances, to be addressed by Web pages. The aim is to help hardware manufacturers have their USB devices work on any platform, including Web, without having any need to write native drivers or SDKs for a dedicated platform. Besides controlling the hardware, a Web page could also install firmware updates as well as perform other essential tasks. Howev...
USBKill — Code That Kills Computers Before They Examine USBs for Secrets

USBKill — Code That Kills Computers Before They Examine USBs for Secrets

May 05, 2015
USBkill — A new program that once activated, will instantly disable the laptop or computer if there is any activity on USB port. Hey Wait, don't compare USBkill with the USB Killer stick that destroy sensitive components of a computer when plugged-in. "USBKill" is a new weapon that could be a boon for whistleblowers, journalists, activists, and even cyber criminals who want to keep their information away from police and cyber thieves. It is like, if you are caught, kill yourself. In the same fashion as terrorists do. Here I am not talking about to kill yourself, but to kill the data from your laptop if the law enforcement has caught your laptop. USBkill does exactly this by turning a thumb drive into a kill switch that if unplugged, forces systems to shut down. Hephaestos ( @h3phaestos ), the author of USBkill, reports that the tool will help prevent users from becoming the next Ross Ulbricht , founder of the infamous underground drug marketplace ...
KeySweeper — Arduino-based Keylogger for Wireless Keyboards

KeySweeper — Arduino-based Keylogger for Wireless Keyboards

Jan 13, 2015
Security researcher has developed a cheap USB wall charger that is capable to eavesdrop on almost any   Microsoft   wireless  keyboard . MySpace mischief-maker Samy Kamkar has released a super-creepy keystroke logger for Microsoft wireless keyboards cunningly hidden in what appears to be a rather cheap, but functioning USB wall charger. The stealthy Arduino-based device, dubbed " KeySweeper ", looks and functions just like a generic USB mobile charger, but actually sniffs, decrypts, logs, and reports back all keystrokes from a Microsoft wireless keyboard. " KeySweeper is a stealthy Ardunio-based device camouflaged as a wall charger that wirelessly sniffs, decrypts, logs and reports-back all keystrokes from any Microsoft wireless keyboard in the vicinity," Kamkar said. The security researcher has also released instructions on how to build the USB wall charger online and surprisinglyits is cheap to build and quite capable. KeySweeper includes a web...
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