Security News > 2020 > January > USB Cable Kill Switch for Laptops

The idea is to connect the BusKill cable to your Linux laptop on one end, and to your belt, on the other end.

When someone yanks your laptop from your lap or table, the USB cable disconnects from the laptop and triggers a udev script [1, 2, 3] that executes a series of preset operations.

These can be something as simple as activating your screensaver or shutting down your device, but the script can also be configured to wipe the device or delete certain folders.

Clever idea, but I - and my guess is most people - would be much more likely to stand up from the table, forgetting that the cable was attached, and yanking it out.

EDITED TO ADD: There are Bluetooth devices that will automatically encrypt a laptop when the device isn't in proximity.

News URL

https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2020/01/usb_cable_kill_.html