Nowadays, we take several steps to ensure the security of our data. We configure firewalls, install Intrusion Detection and Prevention software, and take the help of anti-malware programs to prevent theft of sensitive data. No doubt these steps help us a lot. But, there are still methods that can bypass all these safety measures and steal sensitive data. Pod slurping is one such example.

What is pod slurping?

Pod slurping is a technique used by miscreants to steal sensitive data from a system using some simple devices like iPods, USB Sticks, Flash devices, and PDAs. The miscreants plug these devices into the system that contains data and transfer the data within a few minutes.

The security expert Abe Usher first discovered the vulnerability. He created a Proof of Concept using a small application, slurp.exe, and his iPod. He plugged the device into a computer and was able to transfer a considerable amount of sensitive data in just 65 seconds. This attack is indeed very simple but a serious one. Any miscreant who has physical access to a computer can use this technique. It does not require much software knowledge to steal information using pod slurping.

And it is much more difficult to prevent this. Almost every computer has USB ports enabled, and anyone, including employees of a company, possesses devices like iPods, MP3 Players, or USB Sticks.

How to prevent pod slurping?

As we discussed above, it proves much more difficult to prevent pod slurping. In an organization, disabling USB ports or preventing users from using USB Sticks is one method of preventing this attack. But, it is no doubt inefficient. USB ports and USB sticks are very helpful in our daily lives. And preventing the use of them will be rather inconvenient.

In Unix-based systems, pod slurping can easily be prevented by preventing users from mounting portable devices. Microsoft has also released instructions to prevent users from installing USB mass storage devices on its operating systems.

There are also a number of third-party security products that allow companies to set security policies related to the usage of USB devices.

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Amrita Mitra

Author

Ms. Amrita Mitra is an author, who has authored the books “Cryptography And Public Key Infrastructure“, “Web Application Vulnerabilities And Prevention“, “A Guide To Cyber Security” and “Phishing: Detection, Analysis And Prevention“. She is also the founder of Asigosec Technologies, the company that owns The Security Buddy.

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