USB Killers on the Loose

Estimated reading time: 1.5 minutesSome of you may have heard of something called USB Killers - but what are they, and what do they do?They are intended to be malicious - potentially fatal for the motherboard and more than capable of destroying USB ports, hubs and controller boards.They are a clever concept. USB Killers take the 5 Volts from the port - turn DC into DC - charging several capacitors and then re-deliver usually over 100 Volts back into the PC through the USB data lines. It does this rapidly until the initial 5 Volts is no longer available. Thus instantly and permanently rendering the hardware useless and unrecoverable.The USB Killers can be bought online for around $40 - $50, but obviously, will be destroyed in the process of frying the target machine. There are various schematics and YouTube videos online demonstrating their raw power and how to make them yourself.Also, if using OTG cables, be aware that they can fry smartphones, tablets and pretty much anything it connects to.With the start of the year, we will see many more malicious devices and threats coming into the industry that will further test our skills and require new ones to be obtained. Bring it on, 2017! Goodluck everyone, hopefully, this has helped you.