this post was submitted on 09 Oct 2024
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They hypothesize that attaching a compromised USB drive to an air gapped system is to blame. That seems to be a well known vector at this point. Does it matter much what tool is used to copy data once it’s in?
You say that like it's some common occurrence. Is it? As far as I know the CIA, FBI, or NSA (Can't remember) did a test where they did that in their own parking lot and lots of people fell for it. But is there any evidence of it being done maliciously?
Even if it isn't an intentional attack you don't want people bringing God knows what on USB sticks that may or may not just be infected from the users own home PC. USB storage devices are lovely targets.
But yeah the South Korean military got infected by a soldier plugging in a planted USB stick.
I think the narrative of a targeted attack is easier to sell though. Make it us vs them and people grasp the concept a little better. This is very common in information security training in a lot of fields in my experience.
There are USB cables that do this now. Air capped machines need to be better about sanitizing USB.