Travelers who need to charge their smartphones while on the go might want to avoid public USB charging stations, due to the security risk known as “juice jacking,” authorities in California have warned.
An advisory from the District Attorney’s Office of Los Angeles County warned against the USB charger scam, in which hackers try to infect the smartphones and other electronic devices of unassuming travelers through the free USB charging stations in public places such as airports and hotels. Juice jacking attempts see hackers loading malware into the charging stations, or in cables that they leave plugged in at the stations. The malware may either lock the smartphone and hold it as hostage, or forward sensitive information such as passwords to the attacker.
The county’s chief prosecutor’s office does not have any recorded cases of juice jacking, a spokesperson told TechCrunch. The spokesperson simply said that the advisory was part of a “fraud education campaign.”
The plan of attack by hackers to commandeer USB charging stations is not a new concept. Warnings against juice jacking have… Digital Trends