USBs with attached notes have been appearing in public spaces in Whanganui including Virginia Lake and Splash Centre. Photo / Supplied
USBs with attached notes have been appearing in public spaces in Whanganui including Virginia Lake and Splash Centre. Photo / Supplied
A series of USB sticks accompanied by cryptic religious notes have been found planted in public sites across Whanganui and surrounding areas.
While no serious threat has been identified, the Whanganui District Council and National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) are urging the public to take caution.
There have been multiple reports of USBs being found since March.
According to reports on social media, there have been others found in parts of South Taranaki and Manawatū, primarily in public spaces like cinemas and restrooms.
USBs with attached notes have been appearing in public spaces in Whanganui, including Virginia Lake and Splash Centre. Photo / Supplied
Whanganui District Council chief experiences officer Catherine Dutton said The Splash Centre had been receiving USBs with the same notes since early March.
“We took the device to police and asked them to check it out for us,” she said.
“They looked into it with their IT team and there was no virus.”
Police confirmed that the USB, handed in on March 14, contained religious messaging aligning with the content of the note and advised that any further USBs found be disposed of.
Posters have been placed in the Splash Centre recommending people hand the USBs in and that they plug them in at their own risk.
“From a freedom-of-speech perspective, it’s up to people whether they want to take that responsibility for themselves,” Dutton said.
Police recommend that unknown USBs not be plugged into personal devices.
“Our teams are pretty vigilant to check changing rooms and any public area around the pool for anything out of the ordinary,” she said.
Dutton said it was creating extra stress for council staff.
“In recent times we’ve had quite a level of undesirable behaviour and abuse towards staff so we are vigilant at the moment because these things do put staff on edge,” she said.
Dutton said people should either dispose of any USB found or hand them in to the police or council.
“We really encourage the public to let us know,” she said.
“We have a responsibility to keep the public and our staff safe.”
A National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) spokesperson said the centre had received reports across the country of USB devices being left in public, but it was not a common occurrence.
“It is often connected to people wanting to deliver messages to the public,” it said in a statement.
The NCSC recommends that any USB devices found should not be plugged in and should be disposed of.
Ransomware infections can be installed via USB that enable hackers to then block you from accessing your files.
They will often request money in exchange for not leaking the information or returning access.
General information-stealing is also possible where hackers can copy information from a device, including passwords and other sensitive data, potentially without the user finding out.
