NDM Post 23

Now e-cigarettes can give you malware

E-Cigs now carry Malware that can corrupt computer's hard drives often from untrustworthy products or untrustworthy distributors such as local shops that may not buy authentic brands fro cheaper. all of the e-cigs have been made in china including the fakes, these fakes had malware hardcoded in the charger of the product and when plugged in to the usb port it phoned home and infected the system. Production line malware has been around for a few year and Rik Ferguson stated that it has infected MP3, photo frames and more.a photo frame produced by Samsung shipped with malware on the product’s install disc. it is advised to stick to well known brands and look for scratch checkers on the box to confirmation of authenticity.

Recent proof-of-concept attack called “BadUSB”, which involves reprogramming USB devices at the hardware level

USB controller chips, including those in thumb drives, have no protection from such reprogramming

Any electrical device that uses a USB charger could be targeted in this way, and just about every one of these electrical devices will come from China

Stick to buying from respected e-cig brand, back up the content on the computer and ensure that the computer is protected.

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/nov/21/e-cigarettes-malware-computers