The “Chromebook Challenge”

A New TikTok Trend That Could Compromise Your Network

A new and troubling trend is making waves on TikTok, and it’s not just a student prank — it’s a lesson in how social engineering can be weaponized. The so-called Chromebook Challenge encourages kids to stick metal objects (like paperclips or foil) into their school-issued Chromebooks’ USB ports, causing short circuits, smoke, and sometimes even fires.

While this might sound like just another internet stunt, it reveals a deeper issue: how easily people — especially young users — can be manipulated into actions that compromise safety, security, and even entire networks.

What Is the Chromebook Challenge?

This trend, first reported by multiple school districts across the U.S., involves students intentionally damaging their Chromebooks by inserting conductive materials into USB ports. The result? Fried motherboards, burnt batteries, and in some cases, minor fires.

School officials in Michigan and Texas have already sent out warnings to parents and removed damaged devices from circulation:

• https://www.expressnews.com/news/education/article/texas-school-districts-warn-chromebook-20319348.php

• https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/tiktok-chromebook-challenge-danger-20319622.php

How Social Engineering Plays a Role

While no "hacker" may be behind this specific trend (yet), it’s a clear example of how social engineering works in the real world:

Social engineering is the art of manipulating people into taking an action — often one that puts systems, data, or physical infrastructure at risk.

In cybersecurity, attackers use similar psychological tricks to get employees to:

• Click on phishing emails

• Download infected files

• Disable security tools

• Grant unauthorized access

What starts as a “challenge” could easily be weaponized by a hacker. Imagine a TikTok video that encourages users to run a certain “trick” command in a terminal or modify Chromebook settings — a seemingly innocent action that actually grants remote access or disables firewalls.

What Businesses and Schools Should Do

Protecting your users — and by extension, your network — means preparing for both traditional attacks and manipulative trends like these.

Here’s how:

1. User Awareness Training
   Provide engaging, age-appropriate cybersecurity education to students, staff, and employees. Focus not just on phishing, but also on digital peer pressure and social media influence.

2. Acceptable Use Policies
   Set and enforce clear boundaries for device usage. Include specific language around tampering with hardware or downloading apps/extensions.

3. Device Monitoring
   Use endpoint monitoring tools to flag strange behavior (like disabled security settings or unauthorized apps running).

4. Involve Parents and Guardians
   Inform families when trends like this arise. Partnering with caregivers gives students consistent messaging at home and school.

5. Use Trends as Teachable Moments
   Don’t just discipline — explain. These moments can be powerful learning opportunities about the real-world impact of cybersecurity decisions.

Final Thoughts

The Chromebook Challenge shows how fast and far a bad idea can travel — and how it can translate into real-world damage. If a social media trend can convince kids to set fire to school property, a well-designed campaign could easily convince someone to compromise your network.

Red Garrison helps organizations stay ahead of human-focused attacks through realistic training, testing, and consulting. If your team is ready to strengthen your cybersecurity culture, let’s talk.