Protect your charging cables like you protect your passwords say cybersecurity experts.

We’ve all been there. Your smartphone or tablet getting low on power and you’ve left your charging cable at home. There’s no harm in borrowing someone else’s right?

In 2019, that would be a huge mistake, say cybersecurity experts.

“There are certain things in life that you just don’t borrow,” says Charles Henderson, Global Managing Partner and Head of X-Force Red at IBM Security. “If you were on a trip and realized you forgot to pack underwear, you wouldn’t ask all your co-travelers if you could borrow their underwear. You’d go to a store and buy new underwear.”

Henderson runs a team of hackers that clients hire to break into their computer systems in order to expose vulnerabilities. Since cyberhackers have figured out how to implant charging cables with malware that can remotely hijack devices and computers, his team sometimes uses a trick to teach clients to be less trusting of third-party charging cables. “We might send somebody a swag iPhone cable in the mail. Maybe we have it branded as something innocuous, like a vendor or a partner that they have listed on their website. We send off the cable and see if the person plugs it in,” he says.

Last week, at the annual DEF CON Hacking Conference in Las Vegas — “hacker summer camp,” says Henderson — a hacker who goes by “MG” demonstrated an iPhone lightning cable that he had modified. After using the cable to connect an iPod to a Mac computer, MG remotely accessed the cable’s IP address and took control of the Mac, as Vice reported in play-by-play fashion. MG noted that he could later remotely “kill” the implanted malware and wipe out all evidence of its existence. The enterprising hacker had a stash of so-called O.MG cables that he was selling for $200 apiece.

Malicious charging cables aren’t a widespread threat at this time, says Henderson, “Mainly because this kind of attack doesn’t scale real well, so if you saw it, it would be a very targeted attack.”

“But just because we haven’t yet seen a widespread attack doesn’t mean we won’t see it, because it certainly does work,” says Henderson. “The technology is really small and really cheap. It can get so small that it looks like an ordinary cable but has the capability and the intelligence to plant malware on its victim. These things are only going to get cheaper to produce and it’s not something your average consumer is going to be tracking to know when it becomes viable on a mass scale.”

For the moment, Henderson says, a bigger threat than malicious charging cables is USB charging stations you see in public places like airports. “We’ve seen a couple of instances where people modified charging stations. I’m not talking about an electrical outlet, I’m talking about when there’s a USB port on a charging station.”

“Being careful about what you plug into your devices is just good tech hygiene,” says Henderson. “Think of it in the same way that you think about opening mail attachments or sharing passwords. In a computing context, sharing cables is like sharing your password, because that’s the level of access you’re crucially conveying with these types of technology.”

Many travelers know that, in a pinch, the hotel front desk will often have a drawer of charging cables that were left behind by guests.

Don’t be tempted, says Henderson. “If the front desk had a drawerful of underwear, would you wear those?”

SOURCE: https://wrnts.com/here-is-why-you-should-never-try-borrowing-someone-elses-charging-cable/

But iPhone dey ask of password if u put cable when u wan do anything other than charging the phone na

Lala send my money FTC since last month

Timileyin1234:
But iPhone dey ask of password if u put cable when u wan do anything other than charging the phone na

I don't think this hackers need password

Good info,never know of this,this technological era eh,we go really see the good and the bad.

If you have serious acne condition, read my signature.

sunsewa16:
Good info,never know of this,this technological era eh,we go really see the good and the bad.

def

Thank God for type C cable, it'll take a while before I start thinking of how to say no to sharing my charger.

technology is spreading faster than we expect..
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meanwhile"

The most annoying people on earth, are the people that buy fairly used phone for 40 to 30k and will be using #200 charger to charge the phone.

Interesting thread.....

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A trial wl certainly convince you.

Ok


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post=82377064:
Interesting thread.....

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Borrow charger when I'm using 5000 AMP battery...?

I've used 2000 AMP batteries before and the difference is very clear.

If you want peace of mind Bros, check the phone specifications especially the phone with bigger battery before putting your hardearning on it.

Most of the time now, I don't charge my phone for 2 days and I would be ok....

Aside that, I only charge my phone in my room my charger can never go outside... To do watin self?

That's peace of mind!

Noted

I don't lend out my charger anymore

This is badass

Ever since my charger doesn't fit my phone firmly and I was told, others using my charger affects the charger. I avoid giving it out.

Moderators Why are you eager to move this thread to the front-page. I can see the thread appears twice. Kindly do the needful.

Timileyin1234:
But iPhone dey ask of password if u put cable when u wan do anything other than charging the phone na

the target device was the Mac

Ok

@OP dey lie small small na. wetin concern cable whose work is only to transmit data and/or charges with virus

U wiuld like to ask yourself why lala have to post this thread twice

Ok..... But my wife can use my charger sha.

nice one op, thanks for the info, well i wouldnt be too worried cos i make sure i use my original follow come charger to charge my TECNO phone all the time.

Nothing wey person no go hear