INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Image caption
The gift pack included a USB fan and a handheld fan illustrated with the face of the North Korean leader
Cyber-security experts have expressed surprise that journalists at the summit between US President Donald Trump and North
Korean leader Kim Jong-Un in Singapore were given USB-powered fans.Some warned reporters not to plug them in to their laptops, as USB
devices can carry malware.The fans were part of a gift bag including a branded water bottle and a local guidebook.Temperatures reached 33C
in Singapore during the meeting.Dutch journalist Harald Doornbos tweeted a picture of the fan.The tweet reads: "Handy
In the press kit for the #KimTrumpSummit, there is a mini USB fan - convenient to stay cool while writing
It is pretty hot here in Singapore, 33C or so
But it does not reach Dubai, king of the oven."But cyber-security expert Prof Alan Woodward, from Surrey University, said: "For years now,
engineering people to plug in a USB stick you supplied has been a classic way of circumventing security measures to get your software on
their machine."There's an adage in cyber-security: if you give someone physical access to your computer, it's no longer your computer
Use an unknown USB stick and you are doing just that."The gift packs were assembled by the Communications Ministry in Singapopre.The gifts
have no known link with North Korea
which has been blamed for a number of cyber-security incidents, including the release of the Wannacry ransomware that struck the NHS in 2017
The state has always denied responsibility for the attack.
