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from the physical-access-is-root-access dept.
Security researcher Mike Grover has modified a USB cable to accept remote commands. The commands can be relayed via a nearby smartphone or even over wi-fi. He plans to put these cables on the market soon. For charging, an adapter with the data connctions severed or removed, known as a "USB condom", is a good idea.
On Sunday, the security researcher Mike Grover demonstrated the threat by creating a malicious USB cable that can receive commands from a nearby smartphone and then execute them over the PC it's been plugged into.
His USB-to-Lightning cable looks pretty generic, but Grover actually fitted a Wi-Fi chip inside one of the sockets. Unsuspecting users will think they've plugged a simple cord into their PC. But in reality, the computer will actually detect the cable as a Human Interface Device akin to a mouse or keyboard.
(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 15 2019, @05:17PM
I remember reading that Intel had, prior to IME, some discrete backdoor in the NIC.