A physical attack might create havoc and result in severe injuries if you're not careful. Veteran of the US Army Will Plummer highlights the dangers of physical attacks and how businesses may protect themselves.
Lenin Artieda, an Ecuadorian journalist, thought March 20 of this year was just another Monday. But normalcy wouldn't last for very long. He received a parcel addressed to him with a little USB drive inside. He unwrapped the disc and connected it into his computer without giving it a second thought. The gadget blew up, hurting the journalist.
Authorities in Ecuador launched a terrorist probe as a result of the event. At least five more similar envelopes were mailed to Ecuadorian media outlets around the same time, proving that this was not an isolated event. These unnerving episodes of explosive USB drives targeting journalists in Ecuador have created a new vista in the global danger landscape: physical attacks. This is because the physical and digital worlds are fast converging.
When a gadget, such a USB stick or small computer, is used to start a cyberattack and uses a physical point of entry, the assault is said to be "phygital." "In this case, a digital device was used to mask a physical threat, but it could have just as easily been the target of a cyberattack," says Will Plummer, a 25-year US Army veteran who serves as the Chief Security Officer for RaySecur, a company that develops next-generation mail screening technology. When a gadget, such a USB stick or small computer, is used to start a cyberattack and uses a physical point of entry, the assault is said to be "phygital." "In this case, a digital device was used to mask a physical threat, but it could have just as easily been the target of a cyberattack," says Will Plummer, a 25-year US Army veteran who serves as the Chief Security Officer for RaySecur, a company that develops next-generation mail screening technology. vvvvvvv
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