Be careful whose charger you borrow: Phone charging cables can hack your devices, experts say

[Flying Sausages]

https://www.ktvu.com/news/be-careful-whose-charger-you-borrow-phone-charging-cables-can-hack-your-devices-experts-say

Quote

A hacker that goes by “MG” was selling an iPhone lightning cable called the “O.MG Cable” for $200 that can take control of any Mac computer, remotely gaining access to passwords and sensitive information.

According to his website, once the cable is plugged into a computer or phone, it can be controlled through a wireless network that is built inside the cable. “MG” adds that as soon as he is able to gain access to the information he needs, he can kill any traces of evidence that it existed on your device at all.

Quote

While this all may seem concerning to the average consumer, Henderson told Forbes that threatening charging cables aren’t necessarily a widespread threat just yet, mainly because “this kind of attack doesn't scale real well, so if you saw it, it would be a very targeted attack.”

“Just because we haven't yet seen a widespread attack doesn't mean we won't see it, because it certainly does work,” Henderson told Forbes.

Here is a demo on Dr. Phil

 

This is another scary shit right here. You can be hacked with a modify charging cable! Well, time to spend money on official charging cables direct from manufacturer. Good bye 3rd party good deal charging cable.

 

Dr. Phil did not push the nuke button in the video, okay? 

 

[Belac F]

47 minutes ago, Harry P. Ness said:

https://www.ktvu.com/news/be-careful-whose-charger-you-borrow-phone-charging-cables-can-hack-your-devices-experts-say

Here is a demo on Dr. Phil

 

This is another scary shit right here. You can be hacked with a modify charging cable! Well, time to spend money on official charging cables direct from manufacturer. Good bye 3rd party good deal charging cable.

 

Dr. Phil did not push the nuke button in the video, okay? 

 

thats some scary shit!

 

But if it costs 200$, it will be a long time before third party cables can be easily confused with them. And i'm pretty sure any cable bought in a well known brick and mortar store should be safe.

 

But this could be bad for, say, those phone charging stations at malls. If someone tampers with them, they could easily steal hundreds of peoples data (kinda like credit card skimmers on atms)

[redbread123]

these days everyone's an expert, i'm a self pleasure expert according to todays standards.

[Touch My Hamm]

The amount of time and effort + the amount of technical knowhow to do something like this I wouldnt worry. 90%+ of all "hacks" is social manipulation and nothing to do with actual hackers. This includes installing malware or opening links you shouldn't. This also happens on phones and Im baffled that people fall for side loading VERY shady apps just because some website says their phone is hacked lol. Dr.Phil is mostly sensationalizing for views as most of his viewers are probably not tech focused. He also has to explain he was a forensic psychiatrist in every episode like people didnt know this.

[TempestCatto]

Same reason I don't trust "wild" usb charging ports. I'll gladly take my wall wort out and I won't use the usb charging ports on planes. Technology has really given us all huge trust issues these days.

[williamcll]

This isn't really new news but here's a good one:

[Belac F]

8 minutes ago, TempestCatto said:

Same reason I don't trust "wild" usb charging ports. I'll gladly take my wall wort out and I won't use the usb charging ports on planes. Technology has really given us all huge trust issues these days.

honestly, it is so easy to steal data nowadays. Or even wreak havoc on someones device (Those USB sticks that charge up power and send them into a USB port, killing the computer). corporations and governments really need to be careful. Even VPNs often aren't trustworthy (nord getting hacked, , tunnlebear bought out, etc.) (I think linus said on the wan show that PIA was bought out as well)

[RejZoR]

I don't think this works if phone is not unlocked. Afaik iPhones block all data communications unless authorized via PIN or FaceID. They do allow charging. Would need to know specifics how this is suppose to "hack" or intercept anything...

[EarthWormJM2]

55 minutes ago, williamcll said:

This isn't really new news but here's a good one:

This can't be real... you are not even allowed to bring your phone into any NSA building. They will confiscate it. It has to stay in your car...

 

EDIT: looking at the link, it appears to be a job fair, woops lol

[Guest]

Not a real iPhone cable the end hasn’t been chewed up and badly taped.

[RejZoR]

20 minutes ago, RorzNZ said:

Not a real iPhone cable the end hasn’t been chewed up and badly taped.

I'll never understand this "trend". Buy a 1000€ phone, can't afford a frigging charging cable when old one is damaged. Besides, chinese alternatives often cost like 10€ for a really quality one, you can get decen ones for like 3€...

[Guest]

34 minutes ago, RejZoR said:

I'll never understand this "trend". Buy a 1000€ phone, can't afford a frigging charging cable when old one is damaged. Besides, chinese alternatives often cost like 10€ for a really quality one, you can get decen ones for like 3€...

Tbh fake cables or third party are sometimes incompatible with Services such as iTunes and CarPlay. However good for charging.

[BuckGup]

"a wireless network created inside the cable" So does it have LTE support or it is getting the wifi password from the mac somehow or is it hoping a passwordless network exists nearby? Also it's much easier to just have a USB port on a charging station that siphons the data as you can then use any cable.

[goodtofufriday]

2 hours ago, BuckGup said:

"a wireless network created inside the cable" So does it have LTE support or it is getting the wifi password from the mac somehow or is it hoping a passwordless network exists nearby? Also it's much easier to just have a USB port on a charging station that siphons the data as you can then use any cable.

Ive seen some of these cables with a 4g modem and a nano sim in the head of the cable. 

[BuckGup]

1 hour ago, goodtofufriday said:

Ive seen some of these cables with a 4g modem and a nano sim in the head of the cable. 

Dang

[mr moose]

On 1/9/2020 at 3:29 AM, GodSeph said:

The amount of time and effort + the amount of technical knowhow to do something like this I wouldnt worry. 90%+ of all "hacks" is social manipulation and nothing to do with actual hackers. This includes installing malware or opening links you shouldn't. This also happens on phones and Im baffled that people fall for side loading VERY shady apps just because some website says their phone is hacked lol. Dr.Phil is mostly sensationalizing for views as most of his viewers are probably not tech focused. He also has to explain he was a forensic psychiatrist in every episode like people didnt know this.

That's the issue with this, it isn't a social hack, it is a targeted way into any mac supposedly without trace.  If it has been confirmed to be a thing why would claiming it is sensationalized by phil mean anything?  

[TomvanWijnen]

On 1/8/2020 at 7:22 PM, RejZoR said:

I'll never understand this "trend". Buy a 1000€ phone, can't afford a frigging charging cable when old one is damaged. Besides, chinese alternatives often cost like 10€ for a really quality one, you can get decen ones for like 3€...

The issue is that they often break quickly. Buying seems expensive and take a lot of effort. Why fix something that still works?  I do agree somewhat though. I've seen my family struggle with stupid dying cables, so I splurged $50 on charging equipment from reputable Chinese manufacturers, and we've all been really happy since. A year later we bought some more for new and more stuff and now we're good again for a while.

[rcmaehl]

Daily reminder to use condoms:
 

[Touch My Hamm]

14 hours ago, mr moose said:

That's the issue with this, it isn't a social hack, it is a targeted way into any mac supposedly without trace.  If it has been confirmed to be a thing why would claiming it is sensationalized by phil mean anything?  

The issue is that 1 person able to do this in a closed environment with perfect situation would be alot of effort and knowledge to "hack" someone for very little in return. Doing this is highly illegal and if someone is in the immediate arm reach that puts the person at risk of being caught and snitching on the other person for lighter sentence. This is alot of work for what is a complete gamble if someone has something worth taking. Normally someone who has this sort of knowledge and abilities wouldnt target random Joe 2 and would instead attack something they know has money. putting scare tactics saying never trust anyone at star bucks near your pc because they can hack it is very silly and playing on peoples fear of the unknown of how computers or people work. 

 

Dr.Phil is just playing on this by insinuating that this can happen at anytime and happens all the time. When I doubt that heavily as it is alot of work and can be caught where as social engineering is much easier and offers alot more payout as its been proven by the amount of scammer sites and phone calls. 

[TechyBen]

On 1/8/2020 at 4:36 PM, TempestCatto said:

Same reason I don't trust "wild" usb charging ports. I'll gladly take my wall wort out and I won't use the usb charging ports on planes. Technology has really given us all huge trust issues these days.

I've plans (as I already have a charging bank) to only top up my charging bank, then transfer to my phone. Granted it will take longer (and a little loss on charging power), but keeps my $/£100s phone safe from hacks+bad power outlets, and at most I lose a £/$20 battery bank when charging in a coffee shop.

[mr moose]

8 hours ago, GodSeph said:

The issue is that 1 person able to do this in a closed environment with perfect situation would be alot of effort and knowledge to "hack" someone for very little in return. Doing this is highly illegal and if someone is in the immediate arm reach that puts the person at risk of being caught and snitching on the other person for lighter sentence. This is alot of work for what is a complete gamble if someone has something worth taking. Normally someone who has this sort of knowledge and abilities wouldnt target random Joe 2 and would instead attack something they know has money. putting scare tactics saying never trust anyone at star bucks near your pc because they can hack it is very silly and playing on peoples fear of the unknown of how computers or people work. 

 

Dr.Phil is just playing on this by insinuating that this can happen at anytime and happens all the time. When I doubt that heavily as it is alot of work and can be caught where as social engineering is much easier and offers alot more payout as its been proven by the amount of scammer sites and phone calls. 

 

It doesn't appear that you watched the video nor tread the article.   Please tell me exactly at which point in the video there is any insinuation of how common this is or dr phil saying something even remotely alarming about it.

 

 

 

 

[MuzikFreq]

On 1/9/2020 at 6:33 PM, rcmaehl said:

Daily reminder to use condoms:
 

Plot Twist, they also be the hacking tools disguised as a data blocker.

Best practice is to use and take care of the cables that come with your stuff. 

[rcmaehl]

1 hour ago, MuzikFreq said:

Plot Twist, they also be the hacking tools disguised as a data blocker.

Best practice is to use and take care of the cables that come with your stuff. 

Quite possibly. You can make one yourself though by just cutting 2 wires in your charging cable.

[Killing-time-itself]

It would be comical if this was only an apple problem. I dont think it is however eh who knows 

[Touch My Hamm]

On 1/10/2020 at 4:31 PM, mr moose said:

 

It doesn't appear that you watched the video nor tread the article.   Please tell me exactly at which point in the video there is any insinuation of how common this is or dr phil saying something even remotely alarming about it.

 

 

 

 

"While you might think the technology required to modify a charging cable would be expensive, it’s not, and once you’re exposed, it’s fairly easy for the hacker to get a hold of your information." 

“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.”

 

Language using wording like "fairly easy" can have someone infer that its more common than it is. The article and video play out without giving stats since they do not have the answer but say nothing about the difficulty or training someone would need to do these "hacks". When we can see some stats on how common social engineering attacks are as it has been a point to try and stop the call centers around the world. I guess they dont says "this happens X amount of times a day" but the articles experts talk as though you should watch out for the cable your coworker is using. This is directly related to in the article by saying you wouldn't borrow underwear then immediately talking about a charger. They dont directly link the two but when reading it the first sentence is meant to relate and make a point for the second sentence.

 

So your right they don't directly say this happens X amount of times and its common but lets think about other articles that dont give stats and let the reader imply what the conclusion is *cough Antiv*x *cough...