Public USB charging stations are great at a pinch when your phone is out of juice, but the FBI says they are bad news if you want to keep your data private.
We’ve all been there—you’re at an airport or a mall and your phone is out of battery. You didn’t bring your charger and your power bank is also flat, but at least you have a cable. Joy of joys, there’s a public charging station with USB ports that you can use to bring your device back to life.
Except last week, the Denver, Colorado arm of the US’ Federal Bureau of Investigation has taken to Twitter to warn the public not to use such chargers. This is because hackers are able to use these USB ports to introduce malware and monitoring software onto your phone—a phenomenon known as “juice jacking”—that will allow them to steal your data and track you.
Avoid using free charging stations in airports, hotels or shopping centers. Bad actors have figured out ways to use public USB ports to introduce malware and monitoring software onto devices. Carry your own charger and USB cord and use an electrical outlet instead.
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