Discharged phone it is a real nightmare for modern man. It's no wonder that the sight of a free charger in a public place may seem beneficial. However, cybercriminals have found a way to take advantage of our desperation for energy for our smartphone.
Thief in the USB port
A phenomenon called “juice jacking” allows hackers to take control of our phone through the USB port. All we need to do is connect the device to the infected charger. Criminals can then not only steal our personal data or banking passwords, but also install malware that tracks our every move.
Government applications particularly at risk
The problem is so serious that the Ombudsman himself became interested in it. Marcin Wiącek paid special attention to the security of government applications such as mCitizen. All it takes is a moment of inattention for the data from our digital identity document to fall into the wrong hands.
How to protect yourself?
Cybersecurity experts recommend a few simple rules:
- Always carry your own charger and use traditional electrical outlets
- Invest in a power bank – it is the safest alternative to public chargers
- If you must use the USB port, turn off your phone first
- It is worth considering purchasing a special adapter that blocks data transfer
Is the threat real?
This topic was dealt with by American soldiers from the US Army Cyber Command. The results of their research may give you chills – hacked phone takes less time than the smallest stop. Exactly 80 seconds they need cybercriminals to upload malware to our smartphone through an infected USB port.
However, not all experts are sounding the alarm. Skeptics point out that so far no one has officially reported the hacking of the public charger. They also argue that modern phones warn themselves about data transfer attempts. But in the daily rush, when the battery is running low, who among us reads pop-up messages carefully? Usually, we reflexively click “OK” just to charge the phone. And that's what they're counting on hackers.