Last Updated on December 14, 2019 by Christopher G Mendla
“Free” phone charging stations can be designed to steal data on your phone, even if it is off. Here are 3 simple ways to protect yourself.
We are becoming increasingly dependent on our phones and tablets. It is not uncommon to find yourself with a low battery.
I was just in Atlantic City, NJ. There are USB charging stations all along the boardwalk . You can just plug your device in while sitting there watching the people go by… BUT.. there is a danger.. The nature of USB charging allows for the possibility of hacking your phone even if it is turned off for charging.. In other words, an unscrupulous charging kiosk provider could be pulling all of your phone’s data while you are getting your phone charged.
There are 3 easy ways to protect yourself against this type of hacking:
- Carry an ‘energy pack’.. a battery to recharge your devices
- If you deplete your phone and reserve battery and you have to use a kiosk, charge the battery, not the phone
- Carry a small usb wall charger.
Energy Pack
You can purchase batteries with USB connections starting at about $5. Many stores are selling these batteries fully charged. If you didn’t purchase one ahead of time you might be able to purchase one when needed. They are available in pharmacies, department stores and other place.
I prefer batteries such as the one I have from Just Wireless that has a digital charge indicator. This shows how much power the battery has left. The higher end batteries run about $30 to $40.
Charge the battery, not the phone if you have to use a kiosk.
If you do have a battery and both the phone and battery are depleted, there is one simple solution.. Charge the instead of the phone. USB batteries are inexpensive. When the battery is charged, use that to charge your phone. It isn’t as elegant because you will now have to have your phone connected to the battery and the process of charging your phone will take longer BUT there is no way to hack your phone that way. Plus, if you are distracted while charging your phone, someone could steal it. If you are charging a battery, the most they can steal is a $20 Battery.
In other words:
- Be sure you have your USB battery with you
- Locate a USB charging Kiosk
- Charge the battery
- When you have enough charge in the battery, charge the phone from the battery
Carry a USB wall charger
If you can find a wall outlet, you can use that to charge your phone eliminating the risk of Juice Jacking. You can purchase these almost anywhere but be careful of the extremely cheap versions as they can sometimes fail and start a fire.
Use a USB Condom
You can build or purchase a USB cable that will eliminate the data cable. The idea is to use a cable that can’t carry data.
Additional Reading
The Juice Jacking wiki on Wikipedia is a good starting point to learn more about the potential dangers of Juice Jacking
