Say you found a random USB lying in the computer lab. Out of curiosity, you decided to plug it in the system and see what secretes does it hold. WRONG MOVE! It may very well be the USB Kill Stick that has been designed to take out your hardware. Yes, you read that right; a weaponized USB.
The USB Kill Stick is capable of “instantly and permanently [disables] unprotected hardware.” This is not just a hypothetical situation anymore for this gadget can be bought for a price of $55. Yes, it actually exists. Who would need it? Turns out there’s a lot of pranksters out there who would love to execute this idea.
Once the USB stick is plugged in, it quickly charges the capacitors within it via the USB power supply and then discharges – this is carried out in a matter of seconds. Although using this gadget might lead to felony vandalism charges and when we say ‘might’ we really mean it will land you there. This exploding USB drive originated as a fun and proof-of-concept project by researchers. However, as of now it is an actual product that is up for sale.
What to do to remain safe? Do NOT plug in random USB drives into your systems. Good luck staying safe out there. Check out the USB Kill in action in the video below and let us know what you think of it.