Lightning Strikes Over The Air With This Hacked Cable

Source: The Inquirer Lightning Strikes Over The Air With This Hacked Cable

Thought Embedding WiFi Into A Lightning Cable Was A Good Idea?

At Def Con in Los Vegas this year a security enthusiast that goes by the handle _Mg_ was selling O.MG cables, which are fully functional Lightning cables with an wee extra embedded inside.  He implanted a tiny WiFi chip which would allow someone within the 300m range and with the right software to connect to the cable and access the iThang it is charging. 

As The Inquirer points out there is no reason it couldn’t be configured to look for public WiFi and connect to the network, allowing access from anywhere.  _Mg_ chose Apple’s cord as it was one of the harder challenges to implement this on, apparently it is trivial to do to a generic USB cable; which does not make anyone feel any better about the security of their devices.

If exploding Pixels and iPhones weren’t enough to convince you to stay away from bargain cables, maybe this might.

But the innocent-looking cable has a sting in its tail in the form of a WFi implant that allows a hacker with the correct software to tap into it and access the machine it's connected to through a device in wireless range.

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About The Author

Jeremy Hellstrom

Call it K7M.com, AMDMB.com, or PC Perspective, Jeremy has been hanging out and then working with the gang here for years. Apart from the front page you might find him on the BOINC Forums or possibly the Fraggin' Frogs if he has the time.

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