Ever come across a USB stick and think to yourself “how lucky”? According to security experts the correct thought going through your brain should be “OMG someone’s trying to steal my entire life – I’m under attack!”. That’s the lesson that some residents of Victoria, Australia have learned the hard way, after mysterious USB memory drives started showing up in their mailboxes.
Police are warning Aussies to stay away and never plug in any of the mysterious flash memory devices that have started showing up in people’s mailboxes. Those that haven’t heeded the warning found their machines infected with malware, and police say the USB sticks are considered to be “extremely harmful”.
Interestingly enough, such cases of corrupted devices being spread or dumped on the streets aren’t new. Cyber criminals, and it’s suspected even spy agencies, employ such techniques to quickly spread malware or other dangerous software to unsuspecting users. Even devices coming from seemingly legitimate sources can be quite dangerous. And research shows that a surprising number of people simply pick up and use seemingly discarded USB drives.
Police in Victoria are asking residents for any information that could help apprehend those spreading the infected hardware.
Source: Victoria Police | USB image via Shutterstock