Threat analysis of portable hack tools from USB storage devices and protection solutions

Ali Syed, Azeem Mohammad, M.N. Halgamuge

Research output: Book chapter/Published conference paperConference paperpeer-review

21 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Information security risks associated with Universal Serial Bus (USB) devices have been a serious issue in corporate networks after the wide adoption of USB technologies in the computing industry in 2005. Recently, the U3 USB drives have been of great interest for attackers who want to utilize USB drives as their mobile hack tools. However, beside U3 technology, attackers also have another more flexible alternative, portable application or application virtualization, which allows a wide range of hack tools to be compiled into portable format and run from USB storage devices without requiring any USB specific platform such as U3. In this paper, we provide an investigation into hack tools on U3 platform and USB platform free portable hack tools, their working mechanism, and the compilation techniques. We also provide a general description of most dangerous hack tools with their payloads which can be compiled into portable format. Finally, our proposed solution is aimed at providing the most important and concise solutions for enterprise administrators to secure their systems from portable hack tools.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationIEEE International Conference on Information and Emerging Technologies (ICIET)
Place of PublicationUSA
PublisherIEEE
Pages1-5
Number of pages5
ISBN (Electronic)9781424480012
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2010
Event2nd International Conference - Karachi, Pakistan, Pakistan
Duration: 14 Jun 201016 Jun 2010

Conference

Conference2nd International Conference
Country/TerritoryPakistan
Period14/06/1016/06/10

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