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Author Topic: This USB stick will fry your computer within seconds  (Read 2876 times)

TechMan

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This USB stick will fry your computer within seconds
« on: October 14, 2015, 12:04:25 PM »
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A Russian security researcher known as "Dark Purple" has created a USB stick that contains an unusual payload.

It doesn't install malware or exploit a zero-day vulnerability. Instead, the customised USB stick sends 220 Volts (technically minus 220 Volts) through the signal lines of the USB interface, frying the hardware.

Article
https://grahamcluley.com/2015/10/usb-killer/

Video from article
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TidRpVWXBE
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AJ Dual

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Re: This USB stick will fry your computer within seconds
« Reply #1 on: October 14, 2015, 12:22:39 PM »
Saw this a while back. Unfortunately it's beyond my circuit making abilities.

I really wanted to put a bunch of them in my gun safe and other parts of the house with little tags on them like "Kiddie Porn" and "Ricin formulas" in case I ever suffered a little 4th Amendment violating action, and could get some modicum of revenge.
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TechMan

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Re: This USB stick will fry your computer within seconds
« Reply #2 on: October 14, 2015, 12:26:58 PM »
Quote from: AJ Dual on October 14, 2015, 12:22:39 PM
Saw this a while back. Unfortunately it's beyond my circuit making abilities.

I really wanted to put a bunch of them in my gun safe and other parts of the house with little tags on them like "Kiddie Porn" and "Ricin formulas" in case I ever suffered a little 4th Amendment violating action, and could get some modicum of revenge.

That would be awesome, but they would probably hit you with destruction of .gov property.
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Hawkmoon - Never underestimate another person's capacity for stupidity. Any time you think someone can't possibly be that dumb ... they'll prove you wrong.

Bacon and Eggs - A day's work for a chicken; A lifetime commitment for a pig.
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Bad decisions make good stories.

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Viking - The problem with the modern world is that there aren't really any predators eating stupid people.

RevDisk

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Re: This USB stick will fry your computer within seconds
« Reply #3 on: October 14, 2015, 12:32:16 PM »

Nothing new. Take a cat5 cable, take a power cable. Solder together, and you have an Etherkiller.
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charby

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Re: This USB stick will fry your computer within seconds
« Reply #4 on: October 14, 2015, 12:40:42 PM »
Quote from: AJ Dual on October 14, 2015, 12:22:39 PM
Saw this a while back. Unfortunately it's beyond my circuit making abilities.

I really wanted to put a bunch of them in my gun safe and other parts of the house with little tags on them like "Kiddie Porn" and "Ricin formulas" in case I ever suffered a little 4th Amendment violating action, and could get some modicum of revenge.

charged capacitor?
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zxcvbob

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Re: This USB stick will fry your computer within seconds
« Reply #5 on: October 14, 2015, 01:31:04 PM »
Quote from: charby on October 14, 2015, 12:40:42 PM
charged capacitor?

I bet it's a tiny lithium battery and a step-up "inverter" power supply.  Probably it does charge a capacitor.

ETA: it doesn't need a battery, there's 5V available on the USB connector
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HeroHog

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Re: This USB stick will fry your computer within seconds
« Reply #6 on: October 14, 2015, 04:04:48 PM »
That could work but it will brick the CPU but the data on the hard drives will be untouched.
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Re: This USB stick will fry your computer within seconds
« Reply #7 on: October 14, 2015, 04:16:16 PM »
Quote from: HeroHog on October 14, 2015, 04:04:48 PM
That could work but it will brick the CPU but the data on the hard drives will be untouched.
If the only goal is to kill the computer, still does that.

I wonder (in all honesty, because I have no idea) how it would effect a SSD, seeing as how they are becoming more and more prevalent.
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RevDisk

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Re: This USB stick will fry your computer within seconds
« Reply #8 on: October 14, 2015, 04:35:58 PM »
Quote from: lupinus on October 14, 2015, 04:16:16 PM
If the only goal is to kill the computer, still does that.

I wonder (in all honesty, because I have no idea) how it would effect a SSD, seeing as how they are becoming more and more prevalent.

Probably not. Power to and from USB goes straight to the motherboard. Data lines to and from the motherboard shouldn't be impacted. Drives get their power from the power supply. Hard drives and CD/DVD/BluRay drives will be fine. RAM theoretically should be fine, but they're fragile so 50/50 maybe. CPU would probably be toast. CPU fan might be toast. PCI is probably ok, but again, maybe not.
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Re: This USB stick will fry your computer within seconds
« Reply #9 on: October 14, 2015, 05:22:58 PM »
Quote from: RevDisk on October 14, 2015, 12:32:16 PM
Nothing new. Take a cat5 cable, take a power cable. Solder together, and you have an Etherkiller.

Have you experimented to find the best pinout?
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Re: This USB stick will fry your computer within seconds
« Reply #10 on: October 14, 2015, 05:29:06 PM »
^, :rofl:

"Do I cut the red wire or the green wire to disarm this UXB?  Let's try the red wir
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Re: This USB stick will fry your computer within seconds
« Reply #11 on: October 14, 2015, 05:36:17 PM »
Probably the best thing to do is have it change the bios to over drive the processor and cause it to fail.
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Re: This USB stick will fry your computer within seconds
« Reply #12 on: October 14, 2015, 05:39:41 PM »
Quote from: AJ Dual on October 14, 2015, 12:22:39 PM
I really wanted to put a bunch of them in my gun safe and other parts of the house with little tags on them like "Kiddie Porn" and "Ricin formulas" in case I ever suffered a little 4th Amendment violating action, and could get some modicum of revenge.

A former associate had a problem with stuff disappearing from his storage shed, so he went and got a pretty nice toaster oven from a garage sale or thrift store for next to nothing, mixed up some truly awful stink compound that was basically sulfur and a few other things that reek when hot in a quick-drying paste form, coated every part of the oven that would get hot, and then put it in the shed.  Theft was less of a problem after it disappeared.

Quote from: charby on October 14, 2015, 05:36:17 PM
Probably the best thing to do is have it change the bios to over drive the processor and cause it to fail.

Why not just automatically install Win ME?
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cordex

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Re: This USB stick will fry your computer within seconds
« Reply #13 on: October 14, 2015, 06:29:00 PM »
Quote from: charby on October 14, 2015, 05:36:17 PM
Probably the best thing to do is have it change the bios to over drive the processor and cause it to fail.
Yes, a much more difficult, hardware-specific hack that damages a single component is a better solution.
« Last Edit: October 14, 2015, 10:05:13 PM by cordex »
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AJ Dual

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Re: This USB stick will fry your computer within seconds
« Reply #14 on: October 14, 2015, 07:21:06 PM »
Really wish I could buy a few of them. 

Too many other projects going on to learn PCB/SMD DESIGN and assembly.

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Re: This USB stick will fry your computer within seconds
« Reply #15 on: October 14, 2015, 07:55:34 PM »
Quote from: RevDisk on October 14, 2015, 12:32:16 PM
Nothing new. Take a cat5 cable, take a power cable. Solder together, and you have an Etherkiller.
I had my new motherboard in the tech shop for some reason once and a tech there chunked it on the bench. Unfortunately, it landed on a live 110v power cable and a pin on the MB penetrated the insulation instantly cooking my new MB. His boss made him buy me a new one.
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230RN

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Re: This USB stick will fry your computer within seconds
« Reply #16 on: October 15, 2015, 12:58:40 AM »
....
« Last Edit: October 15, 2015, 02:06:38 AM by 230RN »
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Re: Re: This USB stick will fry your computer within seconds
« Reply #17 on: October 16, 2015, 02:47:58 PM »
Quote from: adively on October 14, 2015, 12:26:58 PM
That would be awesome, but they would probably hit you with destruction of .gov property.
At that point, it would be worth it.....
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BryanP

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Re: This USB stick will fry your computer within seconds
« Reply #18 on: October 18, 2015, 10:36:46 AM »
Quote from: KD5NRH on October 14, 2015, 05:39:41 PM
A former associate had a problem with stuff disappearing from his storage shed, so he went and got a pretty nice toaster oven from a garage sale or thrift store for next to nothing, mixed up some truly awful stink compound that was basically sulfur and a few other things that reek when hot in a quick-drying paste form, coated every part of the oven that would get hot, and then put it in the shed.  Theft was less of a problem after it disappeared.

That's just beautiful. The closest I've come to doing that is putting a rifle that was unsafe to fire in an accessible location near where the good stuff was locked up. Fortunately I've never had a break in, and that old Enfield is now long gone.
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230RN

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Re: This USB stick will fry your computer within seconds
« Reply #19 on: October 19, 2015, 01:09:05 AM »
Quote from: zxcvbob on October 14, 2015, 01:31:04 PM
I bet it's a tiny lithium battery and a step-up "inverter" power supply.  Probably it does charge a capacitor.

ETA: it doesn't need a battery, there's 5V available on the USB connector

Why would you have to charge a capacitor if you have the higher voltage anyhow?*

More likely "charging up" a small inductor, then letting the field suddenly collapse would generate a high voltage pulse through flyback action.

I 'spect one tiny pulse over 30V on a data line would puncture a lot of MOS devices, no?  Thereby screwing up the USB inputs altogether, no?

I doubt you would need any "220 Volts" to mess a machine up, although it is not beyond reality to have the flyback voltage on a small inductor to get that high --although it might self-destruct... no big deal for a one-shot device.

* Although caps would be used in a voltage-doubling circuit.
« Last Edit: October 19, 2015, 01:34:26 AM by 230RN »
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WHATEVER YOUR DEFINITION OF "INFRINGE " IS, YOU SHOULDN'T BE DOING IT.

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Re: This USB stick will fry your computer within seconds
« Reply #20 on: October 20, 2015, 09:43:07 PM »
it's something when so many of us feel that .gov is the real enemy.
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