The USB Device That Can Fry and Kill Your Laptop

If you are wondering why it is dubbed as USB Killer version 2.0, according to thehackernews, this is not the first time Dark Purple made similar device.

The tiny object, which looks just like a USB memory stick, draws a small amount of power from the host device and stores it in an internal capacitor until it reaches 220 volts.

Calling it the “USB Killer v2”.

In the example documented by Dark Purple – see video below – the laptop is shown to be completely incapacitated after the payload is delivered.

However, such scenario would somehow lose its significance when compared to a new type of threat that does not only destroy files, but ultimately destroys the physical computer itself.

Dark Purple claimed the USB Killer could destroy “almost any equipment” with a USB interface. And, in case anyone thought USB stick attacks had lost their novelty, last year’s Bad USB proof-of-concept exploit delivered a highly programmable attack platform that can’t be detected by today’s defenses.

There’s nothing to suggest that Dark Purple designed the device for malicious purposes.

While malware often does much more damage than merely erasing your data, the fear of your precious documents disappearing is still a very scary thought.

He said he was inspired by a story about a man stealing a USB drive from someone’s backpack.

“The basic idea of the USB drive is quite simple”.

“At the same time, the field transistor opens”. It is used to apply the -110V to signal lines of the USB interface.

When the voltage on capacitor increases to -7V, the transistor closes and the DC/DC starts. The process ran on a loop until the circuitry failed.