Why not connect an unknown USB device

Let’s set the scene. When you come across an abandoned USB flash drive, you go out into the world and do what you are doing. What’s inside? Perhaps it’s just someone’s spreadsheet from work, and perhaps along with some information that identifies the owner, allows you to return it. But also maybe a government secret? The only way to find it is to connect it to your computer and investigate. However, this is a problem. Please do not do so.

Indeed, the USB device you find is completely innocent and may have been unknowingly dropped by someone who follows the same path as you.But it’s possible Also It’s a trap designed to prey on your curiosity, and when you decide to connect it to your computer, all you find in it is malware.

Malware-infected USB devices are a real problem

It may sound like a movie, but people actually infect USB devices with malware and drop them so that unsuspecting victims can be found. Targets vary in size and size, and the hottest hacks could take place against Iran in 2010. One such attempt infected a country’s nuclear facility with Stunext malware.Even though the entire system is disconnected from internet communication.

In low-risk cases, it may look like a fairly roundabout random attack. After all, phishing emails and text can be sent directly to Mark, but for the USB device to work, you must first remove the USB device and then connect it.

After all, it’s quite likely that someone will connect a weird USB. One study When I dropped nearly 300 USB devices from a “large college campus”, 98% of the devices were picked up by students and staff, and nearly half decided to connect the USB device to a computer. The first connection was 6 minutes. After the study started. Needless to say, there could be a reward for a hacker’s investment in this scenario.

This is not a new issue. US-CERT (Computer Emergency Response Team) Issued a warning about malware-infected USB devices in 2008.. Prior to that, floppy disks were used as well. Although the cloud may be a priority away from physical storage, USB devices are still ubiquitous enough to pose this threat.

Difficult to say how This threat is actually common, but with the rise of cyberattacks, it’s always better to be safe than to regret. Preventing strange USB devices from connecting to your personal computer is just a cybersecurity best practice, just as not reusing the same password twice keeps your account secure.

But if you can’t fight your curiosity, you’re not completely out of your options (although you may be in an unethical territory). In a Reddit thread on the subjectLearn how one user can bring each USB device they find to Best Buy and test it on a computer in the store. We do not guarantee this method as we cannot afford to endanger the property of the store, but the general idea is to check the USB without endangering your personal device or information, or the information of others. It is appropriate to go out.That’s a good thing, because let’s do the real thing: you’re definitely going to connect that USB device..