The mobile phone has become an indispensable tool for our daily lives, and for millions of people being able to charge it outside the home is a very useful and apparently risk-free option to continue using it indiscriminately: But is it really like that?
Rafael López, pre-sales manager at Perception Point, explains everything about Juice Jacking, the latest threat related to this form of charging: “It is a type of attack that uses public charging stations for mobile phones, laptops or tablets. When the victim connects the device through a USB port, the attacker can introduce malware (malicious programs) to, for example, take control of the device or steal bank keys,” explains the expert.
Does this mean avoiding charging your cell phone outside the home? López is clear: “If we can avoid it, yes. It is not advisable to use charging stations because we run a significant risk of damaging our device,” highlights López, who believes that there is no perception of the threat this poses.
“A good way to make use of this type of station would be to charge portable batteries. Once charged, connect it to our device with complete security. We also have security adapters that protect the USB ports and block any file transfer,” advises the specialist.
For López, we are risking our security to have a few more minutes on our cell phone: “We are not aware of the danger that our devices and our data are in by having a few more minutes of charge. This is what cybercriminals play with, with our need to be permanently connected and available,” he states.
Although there are still no official statistics, López explains that Juice Jacking “is a very common and widespread attack due to its simplicity and the lack of protection for users,” which is why he states that “we must take protective measures like the ones we have explained in order to prevent the theft of confidential information from our terminals.”
The expert makes it clear: “We cannot trust ourselves, regardless of the location, since an airport charging station can be just as unsafe as that of a shopping center, therefore, it is best to avoid these points and use as we have indicated, rechargeable batteries or USB protection devices. In extreme cases, if we do not have these devices, never grant permissions when we connect the device and indicate that we only want to use the charging mode and not the data exchange.
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