Cybersecurity

New Trojan Horse Hiding In USB Devices Detected

A new torjan horse malware called USB Thief, which is virtually undetectable before and after penetrating the computer, was detected by ESET. The software was developed in order to steal information from computers that are not connected to the internet – computer found mostly in governmental institutes and security and strategic companies. “The malware hiding inside the USB acts differently compared to former sotware placed in external devices and has a unique way of spreading,” said Thomas Gordon, malware analyst for ESET. “Once the USB is plugged in, the sotware starts working and pulls information from the computer without leaving any evidence od stealing information from the infected computer. The software has a unique mechanism which prevents it from being duplicated or copied, so it is very hard to detect and analyze the penetration.”

USB Thief was created for focused attacks. The software is used in intelligent encryption which guarantees it isn’t spread outside its target surroundings. While common sense assumes that fast-spreading malware is a dangerous threat which attracts the attention of security researchers who immediately take care of fixing it and releasing updates, USB Thief has an offline attack strategy by focusing only on air gapped systems, with no ability to detect it.