USB Flash Drives Are More Dangerous Than You Think

By David Schneider

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You would have had to be living on the moon not to know by now that USB flash drives are a serious security risk: They spread computer viruses the way reused needles spread real ones. If you didn’t realize that before, news that the Stuxnet computer worm (which hobbled Iran’s uranium-enrichment program) was distributed through infected flash drives should have clued you in. Now specialists at Security Research Labs in Berlin say that many other types of USB peripherals can also spread malware. They are presenting their ideas next week in Las Vegas at the Black Hat security conference in a talk entitled, “BadUSB—On accessories that turn evil.” ……[Read more]