Another Word For It Patrick Durusau on Topic Maps and Semantic Diversity

July 5, 2016

Promiscuous Use of USB Sticks

Filed under: Cybersecurity — Patrick Durusau @ 1:10 pm

17% of US employees would use a USB stick found in the street by Marika Samarati.

From the post:


The social experiment – 17% caught in the net

The team of researchers hypothesized that, while there is increasing concern about cyber attacks and data breaches, people still have poor cybersecurity hygiene that puts their own devices at risk. To test this assumption, they dropped 200 USB sticks in public spaces. Each stick contained text files prompting the reader to click on a link or send an email to a specific address. After a few weeks, 17% of the sticks were picked up, plugged in, and resulted in the researchers being notified, either because the user clicked on the link or sent an email. The hypothesis turned out to be true: Despite people’s awareness of cyber threats, they still make decisions that could have disastrous outcomes.

I take the 17% to be the low estimate of users who used the USB sticks left in public places. It’s not possible to tell how many employees used the USB sticks without ever opening the text files or if they did, simply ignoring the request for contact.

Incentive to take fashionable/attractive USB sticks on job interviews, tours, site visits, etc.

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