Some cities\u2019 district attorneys already warn travelers to avoid public USB chargers and free charging appliances. Today cybersecurity is extra important, as we have all of our important info stored in our phones, including documents, money, and personal information.\n

Many travelers know that at the airport you can always find a place to charge your phone. But a few minutes at the public charging station can flip your life upside down and cause big problems \u2014 these hacking cases have become so frequent, that there\u2019s even a special word for it \u2014 juice jacking. There are just a few simple rules to follow if you want to stay on the safe side.\n

USB charging stations can be\u00a0easily hacked.\n\n
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Charles Henderson, the Global Head of IBM\u2019s X-Force Red, shared that cybercriminals hack public charging stations by modifying those USB cables and installing malware on your phone, or downloading data without you knowing about it. He also pointed out that there are some things you don\u2019t share \u2014 for example, you don\u2019t use someone else\u2019s underwear if you forget yours, and you should do the same thing with cables.\n
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Charge your phone only through a\u00a0power outlet or\u00a0via a\u00a0charged-at-home power bank.\n\n
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As many people know, USB cables are not only used for charging, but also for data transferring, and hackers take advantage of this. So, it\u2019s better to use a power outlet \u2014 it\u2019s not as convenient because they are often close to the floor, but it\u2019s much safer \u2014 you can\u2019t steal data through a power outlet. And the best solution is to carry your own power bank.\n
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Don\u2019t use other people\u2019s cables and don\u2019t pick a\u00a0cable up\u00a0if\u00a0someone left it\u00a0in\u00a0a\u00a0public space.\n\n
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Also never use accessories that were found or given to you by a stranger for charging \u2014 they can have a chip that transfers malware to the phone, which scammers will charge you money to get rid of.\n
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If\u00a0you urgently need to\u00a0charge your phone, connect the power bank to\u00a0the public station and then connect your phone to\u00a0the power bank.\n\n
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The infrastructure of public spaces is basically safe, but hackers often install fake USB charging sockets, similar to the way people hack ATMs. A few years ago, at the cybersecurity conference DEFCON, there were free charging stations, and when participants used them, they would get a pop-up on their device that said never use public charging stations, especially at a hacker\u2019s conference.\n
If you don`t have an outlet plug adapter, but you have a power bank, you can plug it into the public charging USB socket, and then connect the phone to the power bank, so there\u2019s no direct connection. Then data transfer will be basically impossible.\n
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You can use juice-jack defenders in\u00a0unsafe charging situations via USB.\n\n
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There are ways to be on the safer side, if connecting to the public stations is inevitable. You can purchase a special adapter that can be inserted into the charging cord and that\u2019ll cut the transmission of data through it. But it still doesn\u2019t give you a 100% safe guarantee against hacker\u2019s attacks.\n
Preview photo credit Drayton_Trax \/ reddit, TastesLikeCashew \/ reddit\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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