I think the real avenue for intrusion from non-dumb cabling, is having a trojan inside that pretends to be a HID (keyboard/mouse/..) and starts taking control.
A related concern with USB-C is how the modern USB-C cable can also support other standards like HDMI or PCIe. The latter is pretty nasty, if a PCI device can suddenly appear in your system. Combine that with a keyboard/mouse to okay the installation of the "drivers", and you've got complete p0wnage of a computer.
Sigh, so to be 'safe' with USB-C while using cables and power sources provided by non-trusted sources (travelers would be at particular high risk) we would need something like
this but with much more proactive monitoring and complete integrated
USB-C borne malware protection within the 'external shield'?
I have a couple of those DROK USB power monitoring dongles. They do provide useful insight into the actual charging rates while using different cables and chargers, which can vary significantly (typically below) the expected performance.
Apparently there is the
Plugable USB 3.1 Type-C Power Delivery Sniffer (USBC-TKEY for short) . Not suitable for regular folks, but at least technically interested people can look at the goings on.
Previous Topic
Index
