Wireless chargers can be used to perform destructive actions. Scientists from the University of Florida presented a paper in which they demonstrated how gadgets can be manipulated or even destroyed using wireless chargers.
The researchers call their technique VoltSchemer, “a set of innovative attacks that give attackers control of commercially available wireless chargers.” The attacks are carried out by changing the output voltage on the device's power supply, which begins to produce electromagnetic interference. They can be used, for example, to call voice commands on smartphones or to damage the gadget.
Qi standard chargers use a communication protocol during operation that ensures safe charging – it stops when the battery on the consumer is fully charged. But this protocol can be manipulated, thereby disabling protective mechanisms, for example, to damage or destroy the gadget being charged. For example, the Samsung Galaxy S8 heated up to 81 °C in the laboratory. In addition to smartphones, the attack poses a threat to other metal objects that may end up on the surface of the charger. Thus, the clamps on the notepad heated up to 280 °C, the flash drive began to melt, and the SSD overheated and lost data.
Fortunately, such an attack is not easy to carry out; it requires physical access to the charger. But the study authors have already contacted manufacturers to eliminate this problem in the future.
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