What do you say if someone wants to plug something into your network?

You don't want one of these on your network!

Let’s assume you are a business owner and a man walks in wearing a jumpsuit with an official looking badge, and tells you that he is from the power company, sent there to plug a device into your outlet that will monitor and potentially save you money.

What do you do?  Let’s assume they say they are from DHEC and flash what appear to be legitimate credentials and tell you they want to plug in a device to monitor toxins in the air. Or maybe from a nuclear task force, monitoring radiation from the Oconee nuclear power plant.

Do you let them? My money is on yes… IF they present themselves in a professional manner. And by doing so, you may just expose your entire network to bad guys intent on doing what they do best.

This is type of “social engineering” is probably not rampant, but it does exist.

Read about it over on Wired, where they discuss the “Pwn Plug” device which is available for purchase.

And don’t let anyone plug anything into your network unless you know exactly what is going on with it.

Questions about a strange devices connected to your network? Please call us in the Greenville or Upstate SC area and we will help identify it for you!  864.990.4748