FBI says public phone chargers may put your data at risk: What to know about 'juice jacking'

[shockedcanadian]

I always feared this of public chargers. One wonders about EV chargers as well to some degree. FBI says public phone chargers may put your data at risk: What to know about 'juice jacking'.
“Bad actors have figured out ways to use public USB ports to introduce malware and monitoring software onto devices,” FBI Denver wrote in a tweet. “Avoid using free charging stations in airports, hotels or shopping centers.” Its advice: Carry your own charger and USB cord and use an electrical outlet to power up your device instead.



The alert from the FBI is only the latest instance of government concern over what’s known as “juice jacking,” a cybercrime in which a hacker uses public USB ports to steal data, such as credit card numbers, or install malware on a user’s device. The term is said to date back to 2011, when researchers at DefCon created a charging kiosk that demonstrated the potential cybersecurity risks of such stations. Years later, in a world where our smartphones increasingly function as wallets, GPS, photo albums and an ever-running log of our personal communication and browsing history, accessing someone’s device can be practically as invasive as breaking into their home

 

[Rambunctious]

Cars can be hacked so maybe charge up at home and then leave... but homes can be hacked too theoretically.... so In a perfect world run by Rambunctious we would take a steam roller to every smart phone and tablet in the United States.... but just like with guns... you could never get them all... so scratch that... just be careful and keep a protective app on your phones....

 

[Resnic]

I don't trust anything the fbi says anymore.

 

[JoeMoma]

I use the same type of cord to charge my android phone as I use to connect it to my laptop to copy pictures from my phone to the computer. So if I were to connect my phone to a cord/charging station available to the public, I could be risking that that cord is connected to a device that could steal data from my phone and or upload unwanted software to my phone.

 

[shockedcanadian]

I don't trust anything the fbi says anymore.

Then who do you trust? Donald H?

 

[jackflash]

I always feared this of lublic chargers. One wonders about EV chargers as well to some degree. FBI says public phone chargers may put your data at risk: What to know about 'juice jacking'.
“Bad actors have figured out ways to use public USB ports to introduce malware and monitoring software onto devices,” FBI Denver wrote in a tweet. “Avoid using free charging stations in airports, hotels or shopping centers.” Its advice: Carry your own charger and USB cord and use an electrical outlet to power up your device instead.



The alert from the FBI is only the latest instance of government concern over what’s known as “juice jacking,” a cybercrime in which a hacker uses public USB ports to steal data, such as credit card numbers, or install malware on a user’s device. The term is said to date back to 2011, when researchers at DefCon created a charging kiosk that demonstrated the potential cybersecurity risks of such stations. Years later, in a world where our smartphones increasingly function as wallets, GPS, photo albums and an ever-running log of our personal communication and browsing history, accessing someone’s device can be practically as invasive as breaking into their home

I just purchased a 73' 3/4 ton F-250 powered by a 360 c.i. FE(Ford/Edsel) engine, complete with flat bed & fully adjustable snow plow. I am fully familiar with points & magnetic discharge distributors from my racing days so no problem for me to tune the engine when needed. If a rig is computer controlled it can be tracked, rigged or shut down one one way or the other. If a device or vehicle is disconnected from the "societal grid" it can be operated risk free. Credit/debt cards now need to be wrapped in aluminum to keep info hackers from picking info off of them. I had not even thought about EV chargers which opens up a new can of worms.