Analysis of Various Malicious Payload Deployment Cables

Abstract

Cybercriminals and hackers are always thinking of clever, new ways to exploit your devices and you must be perpetually vigilant. A malicious cable is any cable (electrical or optical) which performs an unexpected, and unwanted function. The most common malicious capabilities are found in USB cables. Data exfiltration, GPS tracking, and audio eavesdropping are the primary malicious functions. The worst malicious cables take control of a user’s cell phone, laptop, or desktop. Usernames and passwords are the first bits to go. Next, the connected device’s storage is emptied. Attacks through various computer ports such as Ethernet Port, if the targeted network contains faulty Ethernet (networking) cables on the attacker's path to their victim. This project gives a broad overview and a comparative study of the list of vulnerabilities in the hardware ports of a computer that can be exploited by the attackers using various malicious cables and payloads. Keywords— malicious, payloads, data infiltration, USB cables, ethernet cables, HDMI cables