Your €15 WiFi Adapter Is a Supply Chain Attack
Stop Plugging Random USB Hardware Into Your Machines If you are buying networking hardware from AliExpress and installing whatever “driver” comes in the box, you are not being frugal. You are participating in your own compromise. This is a case study of a supposed WiFi 6 + Bluetooth USB adapter purchased from AliExpress, bundled with a “WiFi driver” that was suspicious enough to warrant a VirusTotal check. Links (for reference): VirusTotal report: e01679323360155f9eb8a09f703fc28e325be820cbf3d7a75766a386496df121 AliExpress listing: 1005009909742557 The pattern is the problem Ultra-cheap USB networking devices follow a recurring template: generic branding, no chipset disclosure, a boilerplate manual, and a bundled executable installer that claims...