A type of physical access attack on a Device or Data, Juice jacking also known as USB scam can be used to install malicious software through public charging stations.
At times, using public charging stations is not avoidable, putting us at risk of getting hacked. A USB port can be used as power socket and also to Transfer data. Hacker can abuse a USB connection to infect the unsuspecting user’s device with malware to export their data, passwords, lock the device and take full control of the device.
When you plug into a new computer, Apple and Android devices have security and authentication features that show the “Trust this computer?” alert. Unplug your device if you get this alert while using a public charging station which is supposed to be power only.
Safety being number one priority, here are a few tips to safely charge your devices in public.
- Carry and charge device with the AC adapter shipped with the device.
- Use power only USB cable (The USB cable which does not transfer data)
- Carry a power bank or extra battery.
- Power off the device completely, before plugging it in. Powering smartphone off doesn’t allow the transfer of data
- If you see notification “USB Connected” disconnect immediately.
- Use USB Condoms, a device that blocks the data connections to be passed over a USB cable.