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January 8, 2018

Bait Avoidance, Congress, Kaspersky Lab

Filed under: Cybersecurity,Government,Politics,Security — Patrick Durusau @ 2:56 pm

Should you use that USB key you found? by Jeffrey Esposito.

Here is a scenario for you: You are walking around, catching Pokémon, getting fresh air, people-watching, taking Fido out to do his business, when something catches your eye. It’s a USB stick, and it’s just sitting there in the middle of the sidewalk.

Jackpot! Christmas morning! (A very small) lottery win! So, now the question is, what is on the device? Spring Break photos? Evil plans to rule the world? Some college kid’s homework? You can’t know unless…

Esposito details an experiement leaving USB keys about at University of Illinois resulted in 48% of them being plugged into computers.

Reports like this from Kaspersky Lab, given the interest in Kaspersky by Congress, could lead to what the pest control industry calls “bait avoidance.”

Imagine members of Congress or their staffs not stuffing random USB keys into their computers. This warning from Kaspersky could poison the well for everyone.

For what it’s worth, salting the halls and offices of Congress with new release music and movies on USB keys, may help develop and maintain insecure USB practices. Countering bait avoidance is everyone’s responsibility.

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