{"id":140936,"date":"2019-06-04T15:54:01","date_gmt":"2019-06-04T15:54:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sftarticles.wpenginepowered.com\/en\/?p=140936"},"modified":"2025-07-01T21:50:40","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T04:50:40","slug":"airport-charging-stations-phone-malware","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/airport-charging-stations-phone-malware\/","title":{"rendered":"Airport charging stations could give your phone malware"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Airport<\/p>\n

By 2019, you probably know it’s not safe to hop on the internet without a safety net in place: Anti-malware protection<\/a>, a firewall, a solid VPN<\/a>, and a secure password manager. We create quintillions of bytes of data every day<\/a>, and it’s easy to make an innocent mistake that puts it at risk. Now that innocent mistake can include plugging your phone into a charger at an airport<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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10 tips to keep your data private<\/p>\r\n Keep your data under lock and key<\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n

It’s no secret that public Wi-Fi can be sketchy at best<\/a>, and while it’s convenient to charge your phone at the nearest port, it’s not necessarily safe. Free public phone chargers can be used to\u00a0secretly install malware<\/strong> on your device, malware that can eat up your data in a process called “juice jacking.”<\/p>\n

What’s juice jacking?<\/h2>\n

It sounds like tinfoil hat propaganda, but in reality, it’s an underrated but serious security threat. ‘Juice jacking’ was coined back in 2011, and refers to a hack attempt that uses public charging terminals to install malware on your device. It does so covertly via USB charging port, and it copies your phone’s data, pictures, and email into someone else’s hands.<\/p>\n

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Hackers can use public USB charging terminals to copy your personal data<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“All they really need to do is load malware on the USB port,” explains IBM cybersecurity expert Charles Henderson<\/a>. It’s unlikely you’ll even know it’s happened until it’s too late. “There’s really no way to tell,” says Henderson. “You really have to be extremely technologically savvy to detect such an attack.”<\/p>\n

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IBM (ie @angus_tx<\/a> from @xforcered<\/a>) warns of increased cyber threats while traveling https:\/\/t.co\/RzaPa4AqSo<\/a><\/p>\n

— X-Force Red (@xforcered) May 28, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n