Exploding USB Sticks

2023-03-24 11:04

In the port city of Guayaquil, journalist Lenin Artieda of the Ecuavisa private TV station received an envelope containing a pen drive which exploded when he inserted it into a computer, his employer said.

Artieda sustained slight injuries to one hand and his face, said police official Xavier Chango.

Chango said the USB drive sent to Artieda could have been loaded with RDX, a military-type explosive.

According to police official Xavier Chango, the flash drive that went off had a 5-volt explosive charge and is thought to have used RDX. Also known as T4, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, militaries, including the US's, use RDX, which "Can be used alone as a base charge for detonators or mixed with other explosives, such as TNT." Chango said it comes in capsules measuring about 1 cm, but only half of it was activated in the drive that Artieda plugged in, which likely saved him some harm.

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https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2023/03/exploding-usb-sticks.html

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