Tech Radar
The threats of USB-based assaults for essential infrastructure
Nov
At a time when the dangers of AI-powered and superior email-borne cybersecurity threats dominate the information agenda, it may be simple to miss the risks of a few of the age-old assault vectors that proceed to be exploited by cybercriminals.
For industries that depend on detachable media – comparable to USB drives – there’s a continued want for vigilance as these gadgets have the potential to set off damaging and extremely expensive cyberattacks.
The resurgence of USB-based assaults
USB gadgets are generally utilized in plenty of core Crucial Nationwide Infrastructure (CNI) sectors comparable to manufacturing, utilities and healthcare. These sectors depend on USB drives to switch information in environments with restricted or no web access, comparable to air-gapped methods that isolate essential property and information from exterior networks for safety functions.
In operational know-how (OT) environments USB drives are sometimes the one sensible approach to switch information between methods which are intentionally stored offline, making them a standard device for software program updates or information migration.
This widespread use makes USB drives a major goal for cyberattacks. One outstanding instance is the Sogu malware, deployed by the hacker group UNC53, which used contaminated USB drives to infiltrate a number of organizations final yr. This marketing campaign focused industries in international locations like Egypt and Zimbabwe, the place USB drives are integral in day-to-day enterprise operations.
Current USB-based assault methods have grown in sophistication, usually bypassing superior safety layers by exploiting the inherent belief between the USB device and the host.
Longstanding methods like “Rubber Ducky” keystroke assaults, which silently copy person exercise and ship data again to the attacker’s host system, are being deployed in new methods. For instance, some human interface gadgets (HIDs) like mice and keyboards can have their firmware modified to inject the keystrokes to put in covert malware.
A favourite for penetration testers and social engineers alike trying to entice unwary workers or visiting companions to select up and insert a compromised USB gadget.
SVP Worldwide at OPSWAT.
Managing detachable media presents a number of challenges, notably in OT-heavy environments.
USB-based assaults bypass conventional community safety, permitting attackers to exfiltrate delicate information or achieve long-term entry to methods. These assaults are particularly harmful in remoted methods, the place the dearth of community connectivity can delay detection and extend attackers’ dwell time.
This makes them an ideal vector for malware infections, information breaches, and unauthorized entry. Contaminated USB drives can simply introduce malicious software program into methods that aren’t commonly monitored, resulting in potential data loss or operational disruptions. With out strict gadget and information controls, USB drives can introduce malware or permit unauthorized entry to delicate methods.
One of many key challenges that organizations have in addressing these safety dangers is that they usually lack visibility into what folks and what gadgets they hook up with their methods or how information is transferred, making policy enforcement more difficult.
It’s not solely the safety dangers of malware that current an issue; the theft or lack of unencrypted information on detachable media, poses a major threat, notably in extremely safe environments.
The right way to hold malicious information from USB drives out of the system
Mitigating these dangers requires a multi-layered method to safety that mixes each technical and policy-based options. Actual-time monitoring of gadgets is crucial; any USB related to a system needs to be scanned for malware and suspicious exercise, enabling threats to be detected earlier than they compromise the community.
Information sanitization performs a key position on this course of. By cleansing recordsdata transferred through USB, organizations can take away any hidden malware or malicious content material, making certain that solely protected information enters their community.
For organizations within the CNI sector, a extra sturdy resolution would possibly embody air-gapped methods mixed with a cybersecurity kiosk that scans and sanitizes all incoming and outgoing media. Cleansing all recordsdata of malicious content material utilizing Content material Disarm and Reconstruction (CDR) methods and positioned in safe remoted information vaults. Solely sanitized and validated information from these vaults being allowed entry into the operational know-how networks. These methods be sure that any gadget getting into a safe surroundings is first cleared of potential threats, including an additional layer of protection.
Controller entry and insurance policies are key
Along with these technical controls, coverage measures governing the usage of detachable media are a significant part of a robust protection.
Organisations ought to implement strict controls over which USB gadgets can entry essential methods and regulate the varieties of recordsdata that may be transferred onto any detachable media. By limiting entry to authorised personnel and accepted information, firms can minimise the danger of gadgets compromising their community. Insurance policies and procedures ought to mandate that any USB drive needs to be scanned and its contents sanitised earlier than its information is allowed into the organisations. This may be achieved at scale utilizing a devoted scanning kiosk utility.
Worker and provide chain accomplice schooling can also be essential. The foundation reason behind USB-based assaults can usually be traced again to human error – comparable to utilizing unsecured or unauthorized gadgets – and complete coaching may help mitigate these dangers. Customers needs to be taught about encryption, the risks of utilizing unknown USB gadgets, and finest practices for safely ejecting gadgets to forestall information corruption or malware. In high-risk sectors, common audits of how USB drives are getting used and the way safety protocols are being adopted can additional strengthen a corporation’s defenses.
Preserving USB drives on the cybersecurity agenda
USB gadgets stay a major safety menace, particularly in sectors the place they’re important for information switch. Even organizations that don’t routinely use detachable media of their workflows ought to pay attention to the menace they pose.
A complete method that mixes real-time monitoring, gadget control, and information sanitization, together with strict entry insurance policies and person schooling, will cowl all of the bases and reduce the possibilities of falling sufferer to USB-borne threats.
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