Scary!!! "Hackers can tap USB devices in new attacks"

[M-B-P]

Check out this article I found on MSN:

http://money.msn.com/business-news/article.aspx?feed=OBR&date=20140731&id=17821156

Scary. Before I only saw stuff like that in spy movies/tv shows. Now it seems real.

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This is from the article:

Once a computer is infected, it could be programmed to infect all USB devices that are subsequently attached to that PC, which would then corrupt machines that they contact.

Is it possible for a computer to be infected by any "traditional" type of malware and infect USB devices? What I mean is that the quote from the article is referring to computers infected by compromised usb devices, but what about any other malware that we are exposed to? Can those types of malware infect USB devices?

Also what are your thoughts on the article?

 

[Tomorrow]

You don't remember floppies, do you?

 

[M-B-P]

You don't remember floppies, do you?

Nope. Born in the early 90s.

 

[Tomorrow]

The infection method you described was how viruses spread back in the day before the internet was widespread. An infected computer would infect any floppy that got inserted, then that floppy would infect the next computer into which it was inserted, etc.

 

[dejo]

Mod Note: Discussion continues here: Researcher Details USB-Based Attack That Circumvents All Known Protective Security Measures