
KUALA LUMPUR (June 26): Fake USB sticks loaded with “China-linked” viruses have spread across online retailers, infecting computers at factories and research facilities in a variety of industries, Nikkei Asia reported.
The malware infects a computer as soon as the USB drive is connected, which contains multiple files that cannot be deleted, with users' data downloaded automatically, according to the two articles published by the Japanese newspaper this week.
An examination by Nikkei Asia of about 8,400 of the lowest-rated reviews for the top 100 USB sticks listed as recommended products around April 21 on Amazon's Japan and US sites revealed two similar cases in Japan and 23 in the US since 2017, as complaints have increased since 2024.
A Japanese soldier used the memory sticks infected with a virus on devices connected to secure systems for almost a year before it was discovered in February 2025, Nikkei Asia reported.
The virus has been identified in a US security company report as having been used in the past by a Chinese hacker group, the newspaper added.