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The following docs are for the Malicious Cable Detector by O.MG, which can be purchased here and the intro video can be found here.
The Malicious Cable Detector allows you to detect all known malicious USB cables, even the extremely stealthy O.MG Cables! Additionally, the Detector functions as a USB data blocker for safe charging.
It is easy to use: plug just the cable into the Detector, then plug the Detector into your computer's USB port. LED activity indicates signs of life!
The Detector analyzes cable behavior 200,000 times per second via side channel power analysis. This means that even the stealthy O.MG Cable that hides on the data lines will still be seen by the Malicious Cable Detector.
See the intro video for a quick explainer on how to use, and reference LED patterns for malicious cables.
- Plug a cable into the Malicious Cable Detector (just the cable!)
- Plug the detector into a computer.
- There will be an initial LED pulse to indicate successful power on
- After power on is complete, the LED will indicate if it sees signs of life inside the cable. Different malicious cables will have different LED signatures.
LED activity indicates that there are active components inside the cable. Some legitimate cables have active components inside the cable, such as the MFi chips inside of Apple cables. The Detector has some software filtering to prevent these cables from creating false positives. A typical malicious indication will be a sustained light, or rapidly blinking.
The Detector is an extremely sensitive tool. Some wall chargers & battery power sources create noise that malicious cables can hide behind. To be safe, the Detector will show LED activity when excessive noise is present. If this happens, try using a different power source.
So you have encountered a cable that might be malicious. Now what? Well, that depends. The Detector is meant to be a low cost, portable, first line of defense. It tells you when a cable is not behaving like a normal cable. The Detector is NOT a replacement for a proper lab and forensic analysis. This is the path you will want to take if your goal is to learn specifics about what is inside the cable, what certain components are capable of, etc.
Charging is designed for 500-900mA, and LED indicator will turn on during charging.
All data is always blocked by the Detector.
Further, the PCB is designed in a way that physically prevents the microcontroller from communicating with USB devices on either end, even with firmware modification.
The 6 pin header on the PCB is a standard 6 pin ISP interface. The button on the Detector does not have a primary function with the factory firmware, and is intended for future expansion needs.
If you need warranty support, please use this Discord Invite and join the #omg-support channel for assistance.