Next time when you borrow a charging cable for your smartphone or iPad, think twice. A hacker has shown that an iPhone charging cable can steal your data. Dubbed the O.MG cable, the Apple USB lightning cable looks normal from the outside like any other charging cable.
Once plugged into your device, from a nearby device, and within Wi-Fi range, a hacker can wirelessly transmit malicious payloads on your computer, reports Motherboard. “The cable comes with various payloads, or scripts and commands that an attacker can run on the victim’s machine. A hacker can also remotely ‘kill’ the USB implant, hopefully hiding some evidence of its use or existence,” the report said.
Once plugged in, an attacker can remotely lock a computer screen to collect the user’s password when they log back in. “This specific Lightning cable allows for cross-platform attack payloads, and the implant I have created is easily adapted to other USB cable types,” the hacker known as MG was quoted as saying by IANS. “Most people know not to plug in random flash drives these days, but they aren’t expecting a cable to be a threat,” he added. MG made the cables himself, modifying real Apple cables to include the implant. He now wants to get the cables produced as a legitimate security tool.
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