How Secure Is Your USB?

Nick Flaherty, EETimes
9/8/2014 11:23 AM EDT

The recent report from researchers at Security Research Labs on the vulnerability of USB devices has seen equal amounts of soul searching and indignation from the industry. While the advice has been to make sure you use devices from trusted sources, some USB IP companies have been highlighting what device makers can do to ensure that their systems are secure.

Rather than use malware on a USB device, SR Labs researchers Karsten Nohl and Jakob Lell reverse-engineered the code in the USB controllers and used it to inject a virus or trojan into a system.

Gordon Lunn, customer engineering support manager at Glasgow, UK-based USB chip IP developer FTDI Chip, points out that the report highlights programmable devices, which are just one type of USB device.

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