An Ecuadorian reporter almost lost his life when the USB flash drive he received suddenly exploded as soon as it was plugged into the computer.
What do you do if you get a weird USB in the mail? Many people don't hesitate to plug a USB into a computer to see what's contained. Lenin Artieda, a journalist working for the Ecuavisa TV channel (Ecuador), almost died from the same incident.
So Lenin Artieda received a package from an unknown sender containing a USB. Lenin plugged the USB flash drive into the computer to check the contents, but the USB flash drive exploded as soon as it was connected to the computer.
Fortunately, Lenin Atieda was only injured after the explosion, with only a few burns.
Lenin Atieda was injured when the USB flash drive exploded as soon as it was plugged into a computer to view its contents (Credit: iStock)
Lenin Atieda was injured when the USB flash drive exploded as soon as it was plugged into a computer to view its contents (Credit: iStock)
It's worth noting that Lenin Artieda wasn't the only journalist to receive a USB containing explosives sent anonymously. The police carried out a controlled detonation of a similar device sent to the News Service of Television Television in the city of Guayaquil (Ecuador).
Ecuador's attorney general's office said it had launched a terrorism investigation after journalists across the country received envelopes containing USB memory sticks that exploded when connected to a computer.
"It's a military explosive, but it's very small and it's disguised as a harmless USB stick," said Xavier Chango, head of Ecuador's forensic science department.
Preliminary investigations by the Ecuadorian police revealed that envelopes addressed to journalists had similar characteristics, so the same person or organization was likely behind the mail bomb. .
The Ecuadorian government believes that the terrorists' actions were aimed at intimidating journalists, thereby undermining freedom of expression in the country. The Ecuadorian government is committed to protecting the safety of journalists to ensure freedom of expression in the country.
"Any attempt to threaten freedom of the press and freedom of expression is an act that should be justly and severely punished," Ecuador's attorney general's office said in a statement.
Ecuador's President Guillermo Lasso has blamed the increase in violence on competition among drug cartels for territory and control. It cannot be ruled out that drug cartels were behind the sending of USB sticks containing explosives to journalists.
Ecuador sits between Colombia and Peru, two countries that host the world's largest cocaine-producing gangs. Many analysts believe that criminal gangs in Ecuador are taking measures to intimidate and threaten the government and the public in order to expand their influence.