That USB thumbdrive or flash drive that you have in your pocket may be a vector for all kinds of malware in the firmware, and once infected it cannot be fixed. In fact that’s true of any USB device, not just thumb drives. That’s the conclusion that Jakob Lell and Karsten Nohl, security researchers who have developed BadUSB, have reached.

Hewlett Packard has issued a Security Bulletin detailing a security vulnerability with two types of optional HP USB drives intended for use with some of the ProLiant family of servers. This vulnerability could cause a local ‘W32.Fakerecy’ or ‘W32.SillyFDC’ virus infection. Yes, HP is unwittingly distributing malware.