Journalists Targeted by USB Drives That Explode When Inserted Into PCs

pcmag.com:

We’ve seen hackers mailing USB drives loaded with malware. But now someone in Ecuador has resorted to creating flash drives designed to explode once they connect to a computer. 

On Monday, local TV network Ecuavisa reported(Opens in a new window) a device detonating inside a company newsroom. It turns out the explosion came from a USB drive that was mailed to a journalist at the station. Once it was inserted into a laptop, the flash drive blew up, although no one was seriously injured.

Ecuavisa and Ecuadorian authorities released photos(Opens in a new window) and video, which show the explosion seemed to cause no visible damage inside the newsroom. However, a report(Opens in a new window) from Ecuavisa says the USB drive contained a common military explosive substance known as RDX. 

The RDX was contained inside a capsule within the USB drive, and only half of the explosive substance went off. “If it had fully activated, the damage could have been higher than what we found,” a police officer told Ecuavisa. 

How the RDX was activated may have involved pulling enough voltage from the computer’s USB connector. Fundamedios, a nonprofit devoted to human rights and free speech, noted that journalists at two other media outlets in Ecuador also received bomb-laden USB drives and ending up connecting them into computers. But in both cases, the flash drives failed to go off. 

“The police hypothesize that it did not explode, since it was inserted into an adapter that did not have the same electrical charge as a computer,” Fundamedios said. 

At least five exploding USB drives were mailed out, according(Opens in a new window) to the Associated Press. However, one was intercepted before it reached its intended recipient, another