USB Killer

[GreyGeek]

It's now on sale for $50. Plug it in to most modern digital devices and they will be irreversibly damaged. How? Most modern devices that accept or deliver power through their USB ports do not have over-voltage or surge current protection.

[oldgeek]

Why would anyone want to make, much less market, such a destructive device?

[GreyGeek]

Why would anyone want to make, much less market, such a destructive device?

For the same reason script kiddies used to display "Hacked by the Razor!" on the display while deleting the contents of the HD. Or, perhaps, revenge for some perceived abuse by another. The reasons are as many as there are political and religious viewpoints. And, some people are just plain evil.

[vinnywright]

yes ,,,,or to have a way to quickly kill your device if "they" are coming for you ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

but rely I wander just how fried is the device ,,,,,is it just some power related chip on the board ,,,,,or are the drives and RAM fried as well ?

VINNY

[GreyGeek]

Vinny, it probably just kills the power supply and video. I'd guess that the HD could be removed and scanned. Regardless, it is nothing but an expense causing aggravation. To protect your data nothing beats a sledge hammer to the discs themselves, or an acetylene torch to melt them.

[Qqmike]

To protect your data nothing beats a sledge hammer to the discs themselves, or an acetylene torch to melt them.

Yeah. And isn't that used as an "official" policy recommendation by some of our gov't agencies?
If one were very cautious-paranoid, you could use dd to run zeros or random bits over it, then sledge-hammer the puppy.

[wizard10000]

Yeah. And isn't that used as an "official" policy recommendation by some of our gov't agencies?
If one were very cautious-paranoid, you could use dd to run zeros or random bits over it, then sledge-hammer the puppy.

I worked for Department of Defense for years. Where I worked desktops and laptops got wiped and infrastructure drives got shredded. We outsourced drive shredding to an a company that turned hard drives into itty bitty chunks of metal for years. Pretty sure that's how they still do it.

[GreyGeek]

The polarity of magnetic domaines (North vs South) determines if a specific bite is a 0 or a 1. The size of the domain is determined by the size of the read/write head, a minute electromagnet. The zone is oval in shape and the edges are not precisely defined or exactly reproducible. If the platter were put into a device with a smaller read head a map of each zone can reveal the polarity in the edges around the central zone which can reveal the previous polarity of the bit and when combined with surrounding bits lead to a presumptive value of the byte that the bits were in.
Scrubbing software writes 0's into each bit while speeding up and slowing down the drive ever so slightly in order to smear the bits, thus over-writing the edges of each domain as well as the central area. For ordinary folks who can't afford what governments use the torch or a hammer is a good substitute. I prefer the torch because at 800C magnetic materials loose that property and all domains disappear. When the each part of the disc has become at least a dull red the job is done. Also, smash the electronic circuit boards and their components while you are at it. The technology to R/W that drive may be in that circuitry, proprietary, and no longer available. That's why a lot of data from a generation ago is no longer accessible.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[sithlord48]

The device is ment to be use to test your usb electrical isolation.

[GreyGeek]

The device is ment to be use to test your usb electrical isolation.

By frying your laptop/smartphone? Some test!

[sithlord48]

No durring the design phase . Its not intended to be used on consumer products for purposes other then testing electrical isolation. As you see in the video this needs to be worked on because that is one really easy way to kill almost anything with a usb port.. he also has a few more videos where he kills other devices with usb ports as well

[GreyGeek]

No durring the design phase . Its not intended to be used on consumer products for purposes other then testing electrical isolation. As you see in the video this needs to be worked on because that is one really easy way to kill almost anything with a usb port.. he also has a few more videos where he kills other devices with usb ports as well

It is NOT in the design phase. You can buy one here: https://www.usbkill.com/
The site states:

The most frequent outcome is the complete destruction of the device (laptops, tv, telephones, etc).
Almost all consumer-level hardware fails when tested against the USB Kill.

I agree with you that it is marketed for hardware manufacturers so they can test their equipment,

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.

but beyond a doubt the majority who buy it have other things on their mind. I predict that it will be a great hit among people who are jilted by their "significant other", or by employees who have grudges against their employer, or general malcontents and anarchists whose only mission in life is to destroy.

I also predict that only manufacturers of high end digital components with a USB interface will even consider it and, I suspect, that most of them had the technical knowhow to already reproduce test with their off the shelf technical equipment. I know I could.

[Snowhog]

It is NOT in the design phase. You can buy one here: https://www.usbkill.com/

What sithlord48 meant, was during "a products design phase".

[sithlord48]

yes "durring a products design phase"

[vinnywright]

strangely I really want one of these things ,,,,,,,,,,,,but not for $60+ US for the killer and current testing piece.

VINNY