Killer USB Drive Destroys Computers In Seconds

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A USB drive that fries your computer? Hasn't this been done more than a few times already?

A simple USB stick, created by a Russian security researcher known as 'Dark Purple' can instantly fry any machine it plugs into, including your laptop or TV. In the short video posted by the hackers, the USB is shown in action - all it takes is plugging it into the hacker's IBM laptop, and it completely kills the machine within seconds.
 
As I understand it, the drive only fries whichever chip contains the USB controller. I think that's still the PCH (how long until that's on the same chip as the CPU, though?). A little on the pricey side to fix, but not really a total system failure. Your data's fine at the very least.
 
Armisael said:
As I understand it, the drive only fries whichever chip contains the USB controller. I think that's still the PCH (how long until that's on the same chip as the CPU, though?). A little on the pricey side to fix, but not really a total system failure. Your data's fine at the very least.
Click to expand...

Yeah. I'd assume it's just feeding high voltage into the port.
 
Armisael said:
As I understand it, the drive only fries whichever chip contains the USB controller. I think that's still the PCH (how long until that's on the same chip as the CPU, though?). A little on the pricey side to fix, but not really a total system failure. Your data's fine at the very least.
Click to expand...

Well 220 volts has a pretty good chance of frying the traces to the PCH too.
 
Just putting the usb stick the wrong way will ruin the port and possible the usb controller no need for killer stick
 
Someone is going to buy this thinking it smokes the entire computer when it doesn't.

Once Boarder Patrol turns the ssd / mechanical drive over to Homeland Security and they recover all the data, that person is going to be seriously thinking ... wtf
 
bloodhawke83 said:
so it wont kill my hard drives when i die?
Click to expand...

Now, that might be a product worth buying. Got stuff on your computer you don't want family and friends to see? ;)

Leave a note with instructions to plug something like this in (Obviously with more destructive power) to fry everything it touches. Mainboard, RAM, Drives, etc. :D

Opps.


BTW, Bloodhawke83...I fixed the obvious typo on the quote.
 
Would have prefered if this thing attacked the data instead of attacking the hardware.

Fried Hardware is easy to replace (it only requires money), lost data is far more damaging.
 
So, it's a thumb drive packed full of charged caps ?
 
This seems pretty stupid. Data remains intact, you fry a mobo.

If I "accidentally" spill a soda on someones laptop am I a "hacker" now? I'm going to just carry around a power drill and drive it through people's mobo's and scream "HACKER FOR LIFE."
 
I'm guessing it is dead shorting the 5v line in the USB port. This is usually limited to 1a of current but a correctly designed system it would cause it to shut down only. Remove the short and it should power back up upon a proper reset.
To properly reset that laptop you need to remove the battery and let it sit several minutes before trying again.
 
I was helping someone to test a USB external hard drive once and there was like a short circuit or something, but the computer we were testing it on actually threw a warning message and was like "Hey stupid, this device is causing voltage problems so we disabled the USB port. Unplug it." It was a Dell Optiplex...like some minitower model...I think a 745 which is Core2Duo stuff from maybe 2009 or so. But what I'm saying is that if it's just a short circuit thing-y, there were at least some computers that could tell something was electrically not happy on a port and just shut that port off without being damaged or even having the OS turn off so if that's what this USB thing does, it might not work very well at messing up all computers.
 
Dr. Righteous said:
I'm guessing it is dead shorting the 5v line in the USB port. This is usually limited to 1a of current but a correctly designed system it would cause it to shut down only. Remove the short and it should power back up upon a proper reset.
To properly reset that laptop you need to remove the battery and let it sit several minutes before trying again.
Click to expand...

It isn't shorting the line. It is using voltage boosters to get the voltage up to 220V, charge it into a capacitor and then discharge it back into the port all at once. 220V is enough to cause quite a bit of damage.
 
Scythe said:
Now, that might be a product worth buying. Got stuff on your computer you don't want family and friends to see? ;)

Leave a note with instructions to plug something like this in (Obviously with more destructive power) to fry everything it touches. Mainboard, RAM, Drives, etc. :D

Opps.


BTW, Bloodhawke83...I fixed the obvious typo on the quote.
Click to expand...

Just encrypt your drives and password protect your machine.
 
Get somebody to plug this into their car saying it contains software updates. Little more costly than your pc then.
 
Yeah, this thing is using voltage multipliers to boost capacitor voltage and discharge when it reaches certain threshold. It will actually charge from the port of a computer where it is connected. What I was thinking though is that USB ports are generally fused so it shouldn't in theory kill the whole machine (just the usb controller or the place where the fuses are, should be right next to ports; port would be dead). I suppose in an older computer or maybe ill designed one it can cause system to die but this being a one zap it won't fry the whole machine, especially if some IC or traces get damaged, this will prevent it from reaching hard drives. If the fried USB port still have power this thing will keep zapping though. Given the size of the device I doubt it can produce current high enough to jump over fried USB fuses but who knows, I doubt anyone tested for 220v going into the port. The device seems more of a malicious way to damage equipment and not to protect data on hard drive by destroying it or anything else that could be used for security that I can think of.
 
It's a stun gun in a USB Thumb Drive. Dastardly, but hardly ground breaking.
 
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