Security & ScamsSocial Engineering

Would You Plug It In?

Nearly half of dropped USB sticks got plugged in

A USB stick lies on the ground by your car. The label says “Salaries.” Nobody is watching. What do you do next?

You'll find out

  • How many people plug in a found stick
  • What a stick can do in seconds
  • Why being helpful is the trap

Why it matters

Attacks rarely start with genius hacking. They start with a normal person doing a normal, friendly thing.

About 3 min6 interactive slides · 5 questionsLesson 70 · Zone 8

Play this lesson

Free to play in your browser or on iPhone

More in this zone

  1. 64Computer NetworksFinding a RoutePackets cross the planet without anyone knowing the whole map
  2. 65Data AnnotationYou've Been Training AI for FreeThose CAPTCHA traffic lights and crosswalks taught machines to see
  3. 66Pattern PerceptionFaces EverywhereYour brain is so tuned to faces it finds them in plugs and toast
  4. 67SpaceflightSixteen Sunrises a DayThe space station circles Earth every 90 minutes
  5. 68CombinatoricsThe Party PuzzleAt any party of six, three are all friends or all strangers
  6. 69Internet TrafficHalf the Internet Is RobotsNearly half of all web traffic is not human
  7. 71AcousticsThe Sonic BoomOutrun your own sound and it piles up into a shock wave
  8. 72Color ScienceThe Missing YellowYour screen shows yellow without a single yellow light