Public places like airports, railways, shops, etc. have public charging stations and when our equipment is empty we are often desperate to use them. But, that charging port can take full control of your smartphone and inject malicious code.

Therefore, public charging points are a blessing and a tribulation for users. They help a lot when our mobile phone's battery runs out, but they can also steal confidential data by installing malware on our devices.

The technology needed to compromise the public USB charging port is readily available and therefore the risk of juice theft is very real.

What is Juice Jacking ?

Juice jacking is a cyberattack technique that involves using a smart-phone charge kiosk to install malware using a USB charging port. After this, the malware secretly copies all the data on the phone.

Precautions to Avoid Juice Jacking :

• Do not charge your phone using a third-party system: Such as charging points available in public places.

• Carry your personal charger : Today’s chargers are very small, portable devices and are easy to carry.

• Charge devices (devices) in your free time : You should get used to charging your phone at home or office when you are not actively using it.

• Remove the phone from power (power supply) : This prevents juice jacking but only depending on the model. This is because in some phones, even after switching off the phone, it can power the entire USB circuit and allow access to flash storage in the device. 

• Lock the phone : This prevents the phone from pairing with the device until the correct PIN or passcode is provided.

• Use USB cable powers only : These cables do not have the two wires required for data transmission and only two wires for power transmission. Thus, they enable the device to charge, but not to transfer data.