http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/ Engadget Comments for Researchers say any USB peripheral could steal your data, even a coffee-cup warmer http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/Jul 5th 2010 5:13AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/
You know technology is getting out of control, when a USB powered vibrator has the potential to steal all your personal data.

.. what?]]>Jul 5th 2010 6:39AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/Wait, my humping dog can give my computer an STD? O.o]]>Jul 5th 2010 7:20AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/Jul 5th 2010 10:11AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/i would choose hot coffee over secure data but that's just me]]>Jul 5th 2010 4:59PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/Jul 5th 2010 5:00PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/Jul 5th 2010 5:03PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/Jul 5th 2010 5:17AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/Jul 5th 2010 5:18AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/Jul 5th 2010 6:00AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/
I was always under the impression that a device wouldn't be supplied power until it was 'recognised' by being queried for it's device id... I'm guessing that query would use the data channels.
]]>Jul 5th 2010 6:58AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/I think it depends on the device. My charger for my bluetooth does not use the data rails. Once i put the cable in, it sends power. I know this because it is plugged into my monitor which is not plugged into my computer. Its one of those dells with the media bays on it.]]>Jul 5th 2010 8:13AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/Jul 5th 2010 8:41AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/
I think the article is referring to objects that you would expect would only use the power lines, but instead also have data lines that are covertly spying on your system... IE a Coffee warmer with flash storage inside for storing keystrokes, etc.]]>Jul 5th 2010 4:08PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/Jul 5th 2010 5:19AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/Jul 5th 2010 5:44AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/Jul 5th 2010 5:56AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/Jul 5th 2010 6:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a//sarcasm?
Is it too late to add one of those?]]>Jul 5th 2010 6:32AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/Jul 5th 2010 6:45AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/Yes.]]>Jul 5th 2010 11:10AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/Jul 5th 2010 5:20AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/
$10 off-the-shelf MPU purchased from digi-key can do this, there's no surprise at all...]]>Jul 5th 2010 5:29AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/
Agreed... if a person is logged in and steps away fro 30 seconds, that's all you need to pop a USB key in, have it run a few tid-bits, and pop it back out and walk away with enough info to get you going... Or go to your friend and say "Hey! I got this great mod for TF!!! Grab it off my thumb drive!" and while they're transferring the(a) file, whether legit or not, your stuff runs in the background.

This kind of identity/information theft has been around forever. It's a common and easy exploit that any self respecting hacker knows about... I'm not self respecting or much of a hacker and even I know about it! That's why auto-play is always best set to off if you have any chance of physical compromise.]]>Jul 5th 2010 7:09AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/
what?? this is not about autoplay. linux doesn't even have autoplay. and every sane windows user has autoplay turned off.]]>Jul 5th 2010 5:40PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/Jul 5th 2010 5:32AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/Jul 5th 2010 5:50AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/
Alternatively, even a non-usb keyboard can snoop your keystrokes and send them through other means, like self powered bluetooth (bypassing the computer).

Oh and you can also just boot the computer from CD since you've physical access. Things like that.

In the end it's not all that useful.]]>Jul 5th 2010 6:00AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/Jul 5th 2010 6:58AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/I put a virus on my ps3 joypad, and now it turns the machine on and plays games, clever little thing, and I cant get it off. I have to keep it at the bottom of the stairs keeping it out of range.
Does anybody here use NSA software?
Kasperey Antivirus monitors the usb ports, connect anything and before its booted, a password must be entered. Secure enough I think. A process monitor never hurts either.]]>Jul 5th 2010 6:51AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/I feel its important to point out that normally purchased USB coffee cup warmers, glitter balls and mini aquariums etc do not use any other connections than the + and - power connections, and wont show up in the system tray when you first plug them in. But its entirely possible to adapt one so it has a hidden built in data logger and some kind of auto-run pendrive containing some code that self-runs on your system, this code would theoretically 'call home' your keyboard and mouse movements. So somebody will need to have adapted a unit to do that.
You will always see a little popup of a USB device installing on your system, so if u see such a device do that, check the device manager to see what has actually been installed, doesn't hurt to check it anyway as it'll always show up in the Device Manager.
The moral of the story - watch your system tray for devices being installed when plugging these things in, and pay a little attention to people gifting you such devices, or seeing such things just plugged into your PC. And be a little vigilant of the motives of some people around you, but dont be too paranoid as this is likely to be pretty rare.


]]>Jul 5th 2010 7:28AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/
Researchers say chocolate is a deterrent for cancer.

Researchers research what researchers are searching for.]]>Jul 5th 2010 7:45AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/Jul 5th 2010 9:00AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/Jul 5th 2010 10:17AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/Jul 5th 2010 11:52AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/Jul 5th 2010 12:18PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/
Absconding with data using only elements of the USB standard, without code execution by the operating system, just seems very impractical for the described usage scenarios (embedding them in humping dogs, for example), since the researchers were not able to provide a method to move data over the network. Really using this exploit would require physical access, and if you have physical access a software keylogger would be a superior option in most cases, and a conventional hardware keylogger in most other cases.

I wish I could read the research, but these cursed scientific journals are still trying to separate me from my money. One day everyone will join JSTOR...]]>Jul 5th 2010 2:26PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/Jul 5th 2010 11:00PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/Jul 6th 2010 4:56PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/05/researchers-say-any-usb-peripheral-could-steal-your-data-even-a/Jul 21st 2010 11:35PM