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Plug and play devices, lux security culture and trust issues have caused serious digital vulnerabilities amongst millions in Zimbabwe and the world over.
Zimbabweans are losing millions of their hard-earned cash as well as data through a USB cable or drive called “oh my God.”
Speaking at the recent Tech-Convergence Fora held in the capital city, hosted by Zimbabwe’s premiere Technology Magazine TechnoMag, Dr Whisper Rukanda told the tech giants gathering in Harare this sad reality.
The seemingly innocent cable or USB drive has the capability to take over the port and initiate its own commands to copy and paste content from a user.
“Let me tell you a simple cyber security issue that will affect you.You go to Ximex down the road in Harare, and there is a cable they sale called an omg 😱 😳 cable I looked for mine in the house and couldn’t find it,”
“an omg cable comes with three separators at the end and a small bulge at the converge center. When you see a guy come to you and try to take your machine and charge it that omg cable if mhamha says dad whilst you are taking a bath can I charge your phone you say yes madam, so she plugs it on and says are you done are you not going for drinks she returns with the cable what does that cable remain with anyway, “data on the phone,” said Doctor Rukanda.
Dr Rukanda conveyed Data Protection Commissions should be set up to police such innuendos from the example he shared.
According to the cyber expert, you would never imagine the dangerous threat that could be hiding inside that sleek, white casing of a simple accessory found locally by Ximex Mall and Unfortunately, if you’re unlucky enough to come across a weaponized cable, there’s simply no way to tell.
Rukanda liters Dubbed it the world’s “most dangerous USB cable,” as the OMG Cable has now been updated once again for less than $200 online, and fourty dollars locally in Harare streets according to Rukanda as anyone can purchase a device more akin to a sophisticated release from Q-Branch than a PayPal purchase, one that would have been restricted to intel agencies and would set back any would-be buyers able to purchase many thousands of dollars.
This innocent looking cable can capture keystrokes, steal credentials, exfiltrate data, even plant malware—and there’s nothing needed but the cable itself. An attacker can log directly into the tiny device from anywhere, and if you’re under an active attack, you’d almost certainly not realize.
The cyber authority stated even Nation state actors use a variety of techniques in highly targeted attacks to snoop on their prey and these cables act as yet another tool in their toolkit.
The tech expert said If those in positions where they might be a high profile target are in jeopardy, it would be recommended they never use any cable or device that isn’t authorized.
Dr Whisper as he goes by his first name did not whisper the danger of the Omg cable lying everywhere instead he shouted loud it’s Not the kind of device you’d expect to find for sale online or everywhere in the streets but here we are, First launched in 2019 to wide acclaim, the new OMG Elite has now delivered the kind of advancement over the original where we’re more used to seeing from the hyper-fueled PC and smartphone manufacturers these cables are intended to compromise, rather than the smaller, specialist white hat supply chain.
OMG’s cables hide processing, payload and a WiFi access point in the exact same cable casing dimensions as the originals from Apple or elsewhere. “In effect,” Rukanda said of the original OMG release, this is a mini-computer stuck in the end of a cable.
This seemingly ordinary USB cable is a covert hacking tool. It can steal data, control devices, and log keystrokes.
Rukanda added referring to the wife who would have asked the husband for his phone that in seconds she can transfer all the chats everything in that phone even if there is a password stating,
“So she can play it all, security measure, security issue that people don’t know because of the lack of cyber security awareness.so the omg cable I think it’s fourty bucks or something dangerous cable but it also charges phones number one.”
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