3 ms·

But why?

by Camillo 10y ago

But why?

majewsky 10y ago
At least the kill shield looks pretty useful for the paranoid among us (which is basically everyone here at some point).
cyphax 10y ago
To test your USB-ports. For consumers, this isn't overly useful. This is what they write: "Hardware designers of public machines should have a USB Kill to test their products: photo booths, copy machines, airline entertainment systems, ticket terminals, etc - anything with exposed USB ports should ensure that their systems resist electrical attacks." Seems like a form of hardware pentesting to me, so for security experts and hardware designers, this looks like a pretty useful tool. :)
- _nalply 10y ago
  Sadly as with all forms of pentesting there is the flip side: Unprotected systems are vulnerable to attacks. Imagine one attacker distracting the victim in a café and the other attacker quickly inserting the Kill stick. Sort of a hardware Denial of Service. I am going to research for lockable USB dongles you can insert and remove only with a key.
  - _nalply 10y ago
    One example: http://www.connectworld.net/syscon/usb_security.html http://www.connectworld.net/syscon/usb_security.html
  - DanBC 10y ago
    > Imagine one attacker distracting the victim in a café and the other attacker quickly inserting the Kill stick. Sort of a hardware Denial of Service. You're in a coffee shop. Wouldn't the attackers just "accidentally" spill coffee on your laptop? Some laptops cope well with water from the top (over the keyboard) but not in the air vents.
    - type0 10y ago
      > Wouldn't the attackers just "accidentally" spill coffee on your laptop? The difference is deniability, you can always see that someone killed your laptop with coffee or smashed it with a hammer, with this you wouldn't know until you can examine the circuits.
      - iplaw 10y ago
        And even then, power surges do happen. Circuitry get fried from time to time. There is still a level of plausible deniability.
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
legulere 10y ago
It's a product you can buy as a hardware producer to test if your hardware is safe against this product. So they're kind of creating their own market.

But why?

by Camillo 10y ago

But why?

At least the kill shield looks pretty useful for the paranoid among us (which is basically everyone here at some point).

cyphax 10y ago

To test your USB-ports. For consumers, this isn't overly useful. This is what they write: "Hardware designers of public machines should have a USB Kill to test their products: photo booths, copy machines, airline entertainment systems, ticket terminals, etc - anything with exposed USB ports should ensure that their systems resist electrical attacks." Seems like a form of hardware pentesting to me, so for security experts and hardware designers, this looks like a pretty useful tool. :)

_nalply 10y ago
Sadly as with all forms of pentesting there is the flip side: Unprotected systems are vulnerable to attacks. Imagine one attacker distracting the victim in a café and the other attacker quickly inserting the Kill stick. Sort of a hardware Denial of Service. I am going to research for lockable USB dongles you can insert and remove only with a key.
- _nalply 10y ago
  One example: http://www.connectworld.net/syscon/usb_security.html http://www.connectworld.net/syscon/usb_security.html
- DanBC 10y ago
  > Imagine one attacker distracting the victim in a café and the other attacker quickly inserting the Kill stick. Sort of a hardware Denial of Service. You're in a coffee shop. Wouldn't the attackers just "accidentally" spill coffee on your laptop? Some laptops cope well with water from the top (over the keyboard) but not in the air vents.
  - type0 10y ago
    > Wouldn't the attackers just "accidentally" spill coffee on your laptop? The difference is deniability, you can always see that someone killed your laptop with coffee or smashed it with a hammer, with this you wouldn't know until you can examine the circuits.
    - iplaw 10y ago
      And even then, power surges do happen. Circuitry get fried from time to time. There is still a level of plausible deniability.

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

legulere 10y ago

It's a product you can buy as a hardware producer to test if your hardware is safe against this product. So they're kind of creating their own market.