Former student destroys 59 university computers using USB Killer device

Re:Former student destroys 59 university computers using USB... by mirimir on Friday April 19, 2019 @12:18AM (#19697068)

I vaguely recall the argument (maybe buried in the USBKill site) that manufacturers could ~easily limit maximum voltage across the data lines. Maybe using a resettable fuse? I know that Raspberry Pi limit USB input voltage to ~5V, for example.

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Re:Former student destroys 59 university computers using USB... by miahi on Friday April 19, 2019 @01:12AM (#19697248)

Raspberry Pi limits the input voltage with a Zener diode across the input. In a Zener used this way, the current flow through the diode varies with the voltage difference between the input and the output - so with enough voltage input you can still make it fail, as you can exceed the max power dissipation of the diode and then it will burn - and after that, your circuit is not protected anymore.

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Re:Former student destroys 59 university computers using USB... by blackflame7000 on Friday April 19, 2019 @09:16PM (#19704265)

I can confirm that you can indeed destroy an RPI0 by accidentally connecting a power supply to the USB port while another power supply is connected to the power supply port.

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Re:Former student destroys 59 university computers using USB... by mirimir on Friday April 19, 2019 @11:25AM (#19700336)

OK, so is there any other purely electronic protection method? Or are optoisolators the only option?

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