Warning About Plugging Into Public USB Power Stations

[Simone411]

I saw the article on my MSN Homepage earlier. I know that a lot of people travel quite a bit especially here at FSU. I've never used a public USB power station, but that's because I don't travel that much except for going to my family's home which is only 20 miles away from where I live. I know a lot of us here at FSU will be traveling to be with family this Thanksgiving or some may be traveling to attend one of the skating events like the Worlds Championships, Nationals, etc.

The deal is, however, that this information could be very valuable to those of you who do travel a lot whether it be abroad or elsewhere.

Why You Should Think Twice About Plugging Into Public USB Power Stations

When you’re traveling and your phone is about to die, most travelers will take a charge wherever they can find it. But, a new report from the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office warns against using public USB power charging stations because of “juice jacking.”

Juice jacking is a scam that can drain important information from your phone while you use a public USB port to charge.

Criminals can load malware onto the charging stations, rip out the real USB ports and replace them with their own infected ports or leave infected cables at the stations. When people use these ports, their phone will charge and their private information will be leaked to scammers. Through these scams, criminals can access information like personal passwords, bank accounts or entire backups of your phone.

Luckily, it’s an easy scam to avoid. Instead of using the USB charging stations, consider an AC power outlet instead. Carry a wall or a car charger for when you need a charge. Or consider buying a portable charger so you never have to plug into a fixed point.

 

[MacMadame]

So, while this is something that can happen, it's not a widespread practice AND newer phone OS's like Android and iOS (Apple) have put in measures to combat it.

Personally, if my phone was about to be dead and I had no battery backup, I would use a public outlet and not worry about it.

Is 'Juice-Jacking' via Public USB Ports a Real Security Threat?

While "juice-jacking" is technically possible, the criminal practice doesn't appear to be widespread.

www.snopes.com