With passing time India has seen many developments in the field of technology and science and it wouldn’t be wrong if we say that smartphones have also been a major part of this development . Now days just a click and people are able to make huge financial transactions without running to banks. Just to make these transactions easy and safe both Android and iOS have introduced various safety measures but despite of this we hear about a lot of cyber attacks.
What if we tell you that charging your phone in public places like airport , railway station , bus stands can result in theft of your personal data from your phone? Yes you heard it right you could have been a victim of this simple attack called Juice Jacking just in a hurry to charge your phone. Now the question arising in your minds –
What is Juice Jacking?
The juice jacking was first coined in 2011 . It is a type of cyber attack which originates from USB charging ports installed at airports , railway stations , cafes , bus stands etc. If your phone’s battery is running low , charging your electronic device at free USB port charging stations such as those found at public places could have severe consequences and you may end up losing your personal data or money. Juice jacking results in either data theft or malware installation in your device. Juice Jacking is also termed as USB charger scam.
How Juice Jacking is done?
In mostly smartphones the data transfer is disabled by default and it is only visible on the end that provides power. Mostly a USB port is used as a medium of data transfer. In Juice Jacking the device owner in the haste of charging their device are not able to see what the USB port is connected to especially the new smartphone users. When the phone is plugged in , if on the other end if someone’s keeping an eye , they will be able to move your device’s data on their device. They can search for financial information or other sensitive details in your device using a crawler program or they can use malware app to clone your phone data and transfer it in their device.
Even State Bank of India has warned it’s customers to beware of juice jacking through their tweet.
Think twice before you plug in your phone at charging stations. Malware could find a way in and infect your phone, giving hackers a way to steal your passwords and export your data.#SBI #Malware #CyberAttack #CustomerAwareness #Cybercrime #SafeBanking #JuiceJacking pic.twitter.com/xzSMNNNv4U
— State Bank of India (@TheOfficialSBI) December 7, 2019
How to protect your device from Juice Jacking?
- Carry and use only your personal cables
- You can switch off your device before charging it
- You can go for other options like power banks or external batteries
- Always lock your phone while charging so that it couldn’t pair with a connected device
- If there’s an urgent need to charge your phone you can use an electrical wall outlet
- Go for USB pass through devices so that even if your device is plugged in it won’t allow data to transfer
