News for hackers. Stuff that matters.
Re:USB Type-C to Become More Secure with Authentication Stan... by ardy42 on Thursday January 03, 2019 @12:29AM (#18813042)
>> If I can set my phone to ignore all the data at the first hardware level, and it is a simple enough level that no attack is viable (that second one being a large "if"), then there is no large problem anymore.

> My old no-name Android phone (not USB C) has such an option, and searching around it seems to be a reasonably common feature, although not present on all devices.

I use one of these. The nice thing about the newer versions is that you can verify the impossibility of a data connection through easy physical inspection.

https://www.amazon.com/PortaPow-3rd-Data-Blocker-Pack/dp/B00...

Re:USB Type-C to Become More Secure with Authentication Stan... by geofft on Thursday January 03, 2019 @09:15AM (#18815197)
The problem with that is you also block the pins needed to negotiate power delivery over USB C, so you're limited to 10 W (5 V * 2 A). Laptops that use USB C for charging use C and not micro-B precisely because they need more power than that.
Re:USB Type-C to Become More Secure with Authentication Stan... by close04 on Thursday January 03, 2019 @08:19AM (#18814815)
The generic (unofficial?) name for such a device is a USB condom.