I doubt they would release their “real” operational procedures to the press. Surely they attached the USB to some sort of sandboxed environment? On the other hand why would they be carrying around such equipment?
I can totally buy some low-level Secret Service agent with little tech knowledge plugging it into a machine without thinking twice.
Or a high-level agent. There are many dimensions where level is independent of tech savvy. I'm sure >50% of Fortune 500 CEOs could be tricked in the same way -- at least among the ones who use a computer.
Absolutely. I was just thinking, perhaps naively, that a high-level Secret Service agent would be a bit more cautious and would think "I better report this thing to my superiors and not touch it at all, just in case", even if they know nothing about technology. You want cautious and paranoid people in a job like that.
The only prominent former Secret Service agent I'm aware of is Dan Bongino. After viewing his output over the last couple of years, I have developed a fairly low opinion of whether a Secret Service agent chosen at random is likely to display any real insightfulness. I'm sure they're quite well trained for physical combat though.
Umm... you can use a raspberry pi as a sandbox. My nephew carries around such equipment. Why wouldn’t the secret service?
Probably some over eager and hot headed officer wanting to prove they're hot shit without understanding the dangers.