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I don't see why you need context? > A device changing would be indistinguishable from one being removed and a new one going in. Or future "rubby duckies" could

I don't see why you need context? > A device changing would be indistinguishable from one being removed and a new one going in. Or future "rubby duckies" could emulate a hub, and add multiple devices, all operating simultaneuously. In all of these cases, the system should show a prompt asking the user for authorization. Hopefully in a way that makes it clear if they didn't just physically attach a new keyboard, they should be extremely suspicious about what's currently connected to their USB ports.

tyingq 5y ago
Yes, you could prompt for every USB device detection. You would have to do that on boot too, though, which would probably give users security notice fatigue. There's basically no persistence, serial numbers, etc.
- mavhc 5y ago
  What input device do you use to accept the prompt?
  - colejohnson66 5y ago
    A PS/2 mouse would work, but who has those anymore?
    - mavhc 5y ago
      Plus you'd have to teach people to turn off their computers before plugging them in, which would be hard with Windows these days, when Shutdown is actually Hibernate
- gregmac 5y ago
  Only initially. I guess maybe I wasn't clear in my original post, but my idea was always that the system would remember any authorized device (presumably by VID+PID+capabilities, but maybe also serial or other identifying info if the device+OS supports it). You'd only get the UI prompt the very first time you plug in a new keyboard -- after that, you can plug it in at will and it continues to work. This is also why I mentioned about VID/PID brute force attacks. It would be rare to see multiple devices at once -- eg: the very first boot, or plugging in a new complex device like a dock -- but the experience of this hinges on having the right UI. Having a series of pop-ups like "Do you accept Generic USB Hub 06 (connected to Root USB Hub 2)?" is going to cause them all to be ignored, but, for example, showing a tree of devices and making it easy to accept all at once would probably be ok. And hubs in particular may be a special case, where you don't bother to prompt, but I don't know if that opens an attack vector.

tyingq 5y ago

Yes, you could prompt for every USB device detection. You would have to do that on boot too, though, which would probably give users security notice fatigue. There's basically no persistence, serial numbers, etc.

mavhc 5y ago
What input device do you use to accept the prompt?
- colejohnson66 5y ago
  A PS/2 mouse would work, but who has those anymore?
  - mavhc 5y ago
    Plus you'd have to teach people to turn off their computers before plugging them in, which would be hard with Windows these days, when Shutdown is actually Hibernate
gregmac 5y ago
Only initially. I guess maybe I wasn't clear in my original post, but my idea was always that the system would remember any authorized device (presumably by VID+PID+capabilities, but maybe also serial or other identifying info if the device+OS supports it). You'd only get the UI prompt the very first time you plug in a new keyboard -- after that, you can plug it in at will and it continues to work. This is also why I mentioned about VID/PID brute force attacks. It would be rare to see multiple devices at once -- eg: the very first boot, or plugging in a new complex device like a dock -- but the experience of this hinges on having the right UI. Having a series of pop-ups like "Do you accept Generic USB Hub 06 (connected to Root USB Hub 2)?" is going to cause them all to be ignored, but, for example, showing a tree of devices and making it easy to accept all at once would probably be ok. And hubs in particular may be a special case, where you don't bother to prompt, but I don't know if that opens an attack vector.