Engineer Samy Kamkar has created a low-cost exploit that can hack locked computers in just about a minute.

Security of computer systems has become a major concern for individuals and businesses. Computer users are recommended not to leave their device unattended without locking it. Now, the latest exploit can unlock computers even with strong passwords.

PoisonTap

Kamkar has created the exploit and called it PoisonTap. The exploit can be installed on a computer within 30 seconds even when the device is locked.

The home-made exploit works on a $5 Raspberry Pi system. PoisonTap's software runs on a microSD card, which is required to be inserted into the Raspberry Pi.

How Does The Exploit Work?

Once the Raspberry Pi is plugged to a PC or a laptop, PoisonTap acts as if it is an Ethernet to a USB device and the computer starts sending network traffic to the software. PoisonTap also gains access to the internal router of the computer, which can let the hacker send remote commands to the affected system.

The backdoor stays on the computer even when PoisonTap is plugged off.

"PoisonTap produces a cascading effect by exploiting the existing trust in various mechanisms of a machine and network, including USB/Thunderbolt, DHCP, DNS, and HTTP, to produce a snowball effect of information exfiltration, network access and installation of semi-permanent backdoors," says Kamkar.

Protection Against An Attack From PoisonTap

Kamkar says that even though the $5 hack solution is effective in compromising the security of a computer, users can take some steps to ensure that they do not become a victim of PoisonTap.

Kamkar says that users should put their computers in hibernate than in sleep mode. This ensures that all processes are suspended in the computer's background.

It is important for a user to close all web browsers in case they are moving away from the computer even for a few minutes. However, it may not be feasible for computer users to close all web browsers each time they are away even for a few minutes.

Clearing web browser cache regularly will keep a computer secured to some extent. Clearing cache takes only a few minutes.

The usage of full-disk encryption applications such as FileVault 2 in combination with "deep sleep" mode is another way of keeping a computer system safe.

The majority of new computers and laptops have at least one USB port. Although USB ports are useful to store and access data on an external media, it is required to plug in the exploit. Simply disabling the USB port will not allow hackers to plug in the Raspberry Pi with PoisonTap at all.

Check out a short video about PoisonTap.