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Simple Code Turns Any USB Drive Into A Kill Switch For Your Computer

posted onMay 5, 2015

by l33tdawg

https://regmedia.co.uk/2015/02/02/security_infosec_skull.jpg?x=648&y=429&crop=1

Credit: https://regmedia.co.uk/2015/02/02/security_infosec_skull.jpg?x=648&y=429&crop=1

Criminals, activists, and whistle-blowers have a new tool to help foil police by shutting down laptops before they are examined.

"USBKill" is a script that turns an innocent-looking thumb drive into a kill switch that, when unplugged, forces computers to shut down.

Author "Hephaestos" (@h3phaestos) says their tool will prevent users becoming the next Ross Ulbricht, the former boss of the Silk Road drug marketplace arrested in a raid in which his laptop was seized while still powered on. "USBKill waits for a change on your usb ports, then immediately kills your computer," Hephaestos says in a Github document.

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Hardware Security

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