USB devices are still responsible for 9% of cyber attacks

Despite how innocuous it appears to be, plugging a storage device into the USB port of a computer, laptop, or any piece of technology can be enough to infect it with malware that steals your data. Although it seemed that this modality had lost relevance, a new report indicates that 9% of cyberattacks are still carried out via USB.

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A study of expela security consultant, revealed that the number of cybersecurity incidents based on the connection of a USB device or an external hard drive to the computer caught the attention of its team of experts, being a risk that continues to cause problems for users today. business computer users.

Although the shared graph indicates that Phishing is the attack vector with the highest volume of incidents in terms of theft of private data such as account access credentials, attacks using USB devices represent 9% in these cases , a number that they share with the obtaining of users and passwords in some massive theft of information.

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Regarding how they attack specifically, it is mentioned that USBs can be infected with all kinds of malware – malicious software used to hijack data and other functions for cybercrime – that seek out other storage devices and can also spread to others. computers that are connected to a local network.

Of course, there are methods to protect yourself from this modality. The use of an antivirus and the encryption of the contents of a hard disk is the most recommended, according to the company, but the most effective thing is not to trust unknown USB devices or those of suspicious origin.

Top attack vectors in January 2022. (Photo: Expel)

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Source: Elcomercio