Juice Jacking: Why charging phones using public ports dangerous?

KAKALI DAS

This news is for frequent travellers who often forget to charge their phones.

Picture yourself at the airport, waiting for your flight, and your phone is running low on battery. You search for a public charger, plug in, and it can be a lifesaver.

In many cases, you don’t even need your own charger as these ports come with cables. However, are you aware of the risks involved in using them?

India’s central bank, i.e., the Reserve Bank of India, expresses concern over the potential exploitation of public chargers by hackers, fearing unauthorized access to users’ phones. Does this mean you should completely avoid using public chargers?

How often has this happened to you: you wake up late for work, and your best chance to arrive on time is to rush out the door. However, as you hit the traffic, you realize your phone battery is running low. Frantically searching your bag for the charger, you realise, you’ve left both the cable and the adapter at home.

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But there’s a savior waiting for you at work: a charging station adorned with colorful advertising and equipped with ports and plugs of all shapes and sizes. The service is complimentary; all it requires is a bit of patience. Wait patiently, and you’ll be rewarded with a fully charged device, enough to carry you through the day.

As a wise geek once said, “When something is free, you are the product.” But really, how risky can charging a phone be? It turns out that plugging your phone in publicly may not be as safe as it seems.

India’s Reserve Bank urges every user to remain vigilant, warning that if a public charger is compromised, hackers could easily hijack your phone, access crucial information, and inflict significant damage. This threat is known as Juice Jacking.

This concern isn’t new—back in 2011, two men, Brian Marcus and Robert Rowley, sought to highlight the risk. They selected a cybersecurity conference, Defcon, as their platform. Marcus and Rowley constructed a charging kiosk and installed it at the venue. The rules remained simple: if you needed a charge, just approach the kiosk and plug in.

Over 360 individuals with dying devices approached the kiosk to charge, but upon plugging in, they were greeted with a warning: “Don’t trust random charging stations.”

Since then, even the FBI has urged users to exercise caution. In 2023, they issued this advice: “Avoid using free charging stations at airports, hotels, shopping centers, or anywhere else. Bad actors have found ways to exploit public USB ports to introduce malware and monitoring software into devices. Carry your own charger and USB cord, and use an electrical outlet instead.”

Charging mobile phones using public ports and hackers

Plugging in an unknown cable can infect your device, potentially allowing hackers to install malware that can steal your data or even snoop on you. So, what are the alternatives? The safest option is to carry your own charger, including both the cable and the adapter. Utilizing an electrical outlet is much safer than connecting to an unknown cable. If you frequently run out of battery, consider investing in a power bank.

Public charging is undoubtedly convenient, especially in a world where staying connected is essential. However, if the system is compromised, it’s far preferable to deal with a phone that’s out of charge than to give a hacker the opportunity to steal your data.

01-03-2024

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