Weaponized USB Stick Now For Sale

Megalith

Megalith

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Feeling devilish? For $56, you can get a device that supposedly destroys anything with a USB port. The photo posted is actually the tester/shield; I think it looks cooler than the kill stick itself.

Once a proof-of-concept, the pocket-sized USB stick now fits in any security tester's repertoire of tools and hacks, says the Hong Kong-based company that developed it. It works like this: when the USB Kill stick is plugged in, it rapidly charges its capacitors from the USB power supply, and then discharges -- all in the matter of seconds. On unprotected equipment, the device's makers say it will "instantly and permanently disable unprotected hardware". You might be forgiven for thinking, "Well, why exactly?"
 
Step 1: Squirt gasoline in vents of device
Step 2: Light it up with a convenient flame source
Step 3: Laugh maniacally
 
You guys have no imagination. Imagine someone you really hate and want to fuck with while maintaining plausible deniability. You could sooner plug in something like this into his Macbook while he's not looking than you would hammer/dowse/chainsaw his shit so obviously.
 
Just call in the no knock SWAT the twat. Those flash bangs and lead pellets that come out of those gunny things they shoot will mess up a USB port for sure. But that would be wrong, so don't do that, kids.
 
SPARTAN VI said:
You guys have no imagination. Imagine someone you really hate and want to fuck with while maintaining plausible deniability. You could sooner plug in something like this into his Macbook while he's not looking than you would hammer/dowse/chainsaw his shit so obviously.
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What if it was an electric chainsaw? As long as they don't see it they do not have proof!
 
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I feel like if you can get close enough slam this bad boy in, you probably have some other cards on the table as well for nefarious activities.
 
SPARTAN VI said:
You guys have no imagination. Imagine someone you really hate and want to fuck with while maintaining plausible deniability. You could sooner plug in something like this into his Macbook while he's not looking than you would hammer/dowse/chainsaw his shit so obviously.
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Surprisingly Apple desktops and laptops are the only devices designed to NOT be killed by these. Everyone else dropped the ball.
 
it's cool and I may buy one but how in the hell is this useful for pen testing? I can just imagine telling my clients "Yes and part of our testing process is we attempt to literally destroy all of your hardware and most of the time we succeed).
 
The device maker said that Apple "voluntarily" protected its hardware.
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Apparently it's just a way for Apple customers to make you feel just as screwed as they do? ;)
 
Consumer electronics typically get tested to 30KV discharges on usb ports due to that is what can be expected from human touch. You'll find a 10 cent TVS diode on most USB interfaces to defeat that.
 
I'll assume that KV is supposed to be kV and ask 30,000 Volts? From human touch? Remind me never to shake your hand...
 
ChoGGi said:
I'll assume that KV is supposed to be kV and ask 30,000 Volts? From human touch? Remind me never to shake your hand...
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Yes, sorry I hit shift too early. Standard testing I believe is to 8,000V contact and 12,000V air discharge to meet test specs. Typically it is tested much higher because you need to know when the point of failure occurs and last thing you want is someone to touch it and kill it.

DrLobotomy said:
Volts don't kill. Current does.
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This. 30,000V across the surface of your hand gets reduced to such a small amount of current and also the nanosecond of duration of the 'spark'.
 
30,000 volts from your finger.....no problem

12 Volts from your car battery....big problem.
 
DrLobotomy said:
30,000 volts from your finger.....no problem

12 Volts from your car battery....big problem.
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Used to lay my arm across those as a kid to freak out other kids lol. 12V / arm resistance = current in a few microamps, not even enough to tickle. But get that arm wet and now we can start a little sizzle.

Current is what causes damage but it is a bit more. Current is the result of the source voltage divided by the resistance to ground. Human skin (unless you are a sweaty guy) is a few million ohms per inch IIRC. Also what is important is if the source voltage can maintain this voltage under load. Static shocks hurt but drop to zero in microseconds. If this had the potential to stay at 30kV under load it would make your arm look like a hotdog in a microwave. Kind of like a squirrel that touches electrical ground while touching a power line.
 
Darunion said:
Used to lay my arm across those as a kid to freak out other kids lol. 12V / arm resistance = current in a few microamps, not even enough to tickle. But get that arm wet and now we can start a little sizzle.

Current is what causes damage but it is a bit more. Current is the result of the source voltage divided by the resistance to ground. Human skin (unless you are a sweaty guy) is a few million ohms per inch IIRC. Also what is important is if the source voltage can maintain this voltage under load. Static shocks hurt but drop to zero in microseconds. If this had the potential to stay at 30kV under load it would make your arm look like a hotdog in a microwave. Kind of like a squirrel that touches electrical ground while touching a power line.
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200-300V sustained would make your arm look like a hot dog in a microwave. 30kV sustained would turn your arm into vapor.
 
Bandalo said:
200-300V sustained would make your arm look like a hot dog in a microwave. 30kV sustained would turn your arm into vapor.
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True enough, yea my imagery might have been off. Probably pretty close to turning human arms into plasma at that level lol
 
I think it takes like .25 -.5 amps to kill you. Not into killing folks so I have not run the tests. Just something I vaguely remember from electronics school in the mid 80's.
 
DrLobotomy said:
I think it takes like .25 -.5 amps to kill you. Not into killing folks so I have not run the tests. Just something I vaguely remember from electronics school in the mid 80's.
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It also depends on where the current flows. If it's just going across one hand, it's not that bad until it hits the level of cooking meat. If the current is flowing from one hand to the other across your heart, then milliamps can kill ya.
 
Bandalo said:
It also depends on where the current flows. If it's just going across one hand, it's not that bad until it hits the level of cooking meat. If the current is flowing from one hand to the other across your heart, then milliamps can kill ya.
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This.

I had an incident when I was younger and bridged a coilpack output to my hand to the chassis of my car against my thigh. That hurt like a bitch and would have been lethal had it not been the same side arm and leg, even then that is pushing it.
 
Also note that different people have a different measured resistance. Sounds crazy but true. What can kill one person might not really even injure another.
 
Retronym said:
Put one in your safe, write bitcoin on the side.
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Okay that is kind of funny honestly.

New crowd funding project.

fight back against the "free candy" white vans. Now place these usb sticks labeled "free kiddie porn" around the cities.
 
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