To prevent losing all control against artificial intelligence systems, Palisade Research, a group that examines the attack capabilities of today’s AI systems, developed a simple $200 “hacker cable” to demonstrate how significant the threat is and how easily and inexpensively it can be accessed by anyone. When plugged into any USB port, this cable loads an AI agent onto the computer. This agent scans your system, sends data to GPT-4, receives instructions, and autonomously hacks the system.
The attack costs less than $1
The attack begins by placing a Go-based AI Agent targeting the main computer using a commercially available BadUSB device (O.MG Cable²) as the attack delivery tool. Directed towards high-value targets, this agent dynamically generates and executes commands, analyzes results, and extracts important data to a remote Gateway server. The gateway also provides a real-time dashboard aggregating all collected results. This project highlights the operational feasibility of autonomous AI agents in cybersecurity, expanding the scale of activities previously carried out only by human teams and reducing operators’ workload. In short, it shows that anyone can easily hack on their own.
AI agents can process faster than humans and smarter than scripts. They are like a new type of cyber weapon. Every USB port can turn into an AI-supported entry point. Therefore, it may be wise to be more cautious when someone you don’t know asks for your charging cable or when charging your devices in shared spaces.
Those interested in more details can read Palisade Research’s report at this link.
