What is Juice Jacking Attack? Avoid Public USB Charging Ports

May 11, 2023 By Nancy William No Comments 7 minutes

What is Juice Jacking Attack? How do Juice Jacking attacks occur? What are the kinds? Are there ways to prevent it? This guide will show you everything there is to know about of the ways cyberattacks occur by hackers. When this attack takes place, the hacker’s main target is to steal your personal data from the devices you’re using. This specifically occurs when you are using a public charging port.

There are many places where this attack takes place. It occurs more commonly at cafes’ airports, hotels, bus stations, and most places that have a public USB charging station. This guide will highlight how this kind of cyber attack works and ways how you can prevent it from happening.

What is Juice Jacking?

There are many instances where the device you’re using runs out of battery, and your quickest instinct is to charge it at any public station that you’re at. We usually never think twice about using public USB charging stations because you wouldn’t really assume it to be a threat. 

However, there are many threats that come with using public charging ports, let alone connecting to public Wi-Fi networks. The most significant danger that comes with using just any USB charging station is Juice Jacking attack. 

This usually occurs when a hacker or perpetrator induces malware on the USB charging cable or the port at stations that are extremely crowded. This gives more chances to get victims. As soon as you’re charging your device on this public charging port, a malicious virus can enter into your device. When this happens, you can be attacked via data theft or keystrokes. This is called Juice Jacking. 

How Does Juice Jacking Work?

Juice jacking, as mentioned, is a kind of cyber attack that involves the installation of malicious software onto a mobile device or the theft of personal information from a device by using a USB charging port that doubles as a data connection.

When you plug your mobile device into a public charging station, such as those found at airports or other public places, the USB port on the charging station can is used to transfer data to or from your device. 

This typically means that if the charging station has been compromised, it can be used to install malware onto your device or to steal personal information from your device, including login credentials, contact lists, and other sensitive data. It can easily copy all the files on your device via the USB port. 

To protect against juice jacking, it is recommended to use a wall charger or a portable battery pack instead of public charging stations. However, if you really must use a public charging station, make sure to use a USB cable that only connects to power and not data. 

Or, you can even use a device that has a charging-only mode that disables data transfer. It’s always a good idea to keep your device updated or protected with the best VPN service. FastestVPN even comes with malware protection, fixing security patches on your device.

What are the Kinds of Juice Jacking Attacks?

There are at least four different kinds of Juice Jacking. They are: 

• Malware Infection Installation

This type of Juice Jacking is installed by cybercriminals who induce malware or viruses on your device via compromised public USB charging stations. These malware infections include spyware, adware, ransomware, trojans, etc. 

These kinds of malware injections take over in different ways. For example, if spyware is induced, it can track or monitor all the activities on your device, or if ransomware is induced, your data is held hostage. The more dangerous part about these attacks is that most malware nowadays goes undetected. 

• Data Theft Compromisation

This kind of Juice Jacking can cause severe damage to your device and in fact, is the most common kind. The point of data theft juice jacking attacks is to infiltrate a user’s device and steal as much sensitive information as possible. 

Information like email passwords, phone records, banking passwords, hospital records, and more are all under threat. Most users save all kinds of information and codes on smartphones, and these kinds of devices are usually compromised without your knowledge or consent. 

• Disabling Juice Jacking Attack

Another one of the worst kinds of this attack is disabling. When or if this occurs, the owner is locked out of the device. This can cause severe damage because the attacker now has full control of the device. 

There is a specific kind of malware that can infect a USB cable at a public charging station, and when you connect to that port, it loads that malware onto your device. Once installed, it pushes you out of the device. When this happens, you can’t access your device anymore. 

• Multi-device Attack

The multi-device juice jacking attack is like the viral flu. It passes the virus from one device to another. When inducing a specific kind of malware in the USB charging port, it does not only take over the users’ plugged-in device. 

It goes far enough to ensure that the same malware is carried on to another device that plugs into your port after you. This is the kind of attack that wants maximum damage caused and multiple devices targeted. 

Where do Juice Jacking Attacks occur?

As mentioned above, the most common ways for Juice jacking attacks to fall through are at the most crowded places with multiple public USB charging ports. Here are a couple of common places where it could happen: 

• Bus stations 
• Train stations 
• Hotels 
• Airports 
• Cafes 
• Charging stations 
• Malls 

Now that you have a brief idea of what Juice Jacking is, the kinds of risks that come with it, and its kinds, now let us move on to preventative measures of how you can lower Juice jacking attacks. 

Ways to Prevent Juice Jacking Attacks?

We’ve all been in a situation where we were desperate to charge our devices while roaming the area or waiting at an airport or cafe. The quickest instinct is to look for a public charging station where you can change your device to any public USB charging port. When that happens, and if you’re unlucky, you’d come across the heavy impacts of juice-jacking. However, there are ways to prevent it: 

1. Use a Wall Socket

Juice jacking usually only occurs when you’re connected to a USB charging port. However, if there is extreme urgency to get more device power, you can charge your phone or laptop using a power socket. It’s the safer option to consider. 

2. Get a Power Bank

With everyone constantly on the go, it’s always convenient to carry a power bank. This way, you have a portable charging device on the go that is always personal, safe, and secure. However, you need to make sure that your power bank is always charged.

3. Prevent Using Public USB Chargers

The best way to prevent future juice-jacking attacks is to stay one step ahead always. This means to avoid using public USB charging stations; you need to make sure that you charge your devices before leaving the house, while on the road, or even in your cars.

4. Use a VPN & Antivirus

Another way to stay protected and keep your device secure is by using the best VPN and Antivirus. Security software for your devices helps add an extra layer of protection. This way, you can secure your data, and devices and prevent further cyberattacks. 

Conclusion

Juice jacking is a serious crime, but it hasn’t ceased for years. So, if you find your device battery going to the last bar and have no choice but to use a public USB charging port, always make sure you take all the preventative measures you need, like the ones stated above.

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