Cyber attacks, Identity theft and Viruses

[daydream]

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/18/technology/personaltech/usb-warning-juice-jacking.html?algo=top_conversion&fellback=false&imp_id=217907509&imp_id=771727048&action=click&module=trending&pgtype=Article&region=Footer

Nov. 18, 2019

Quote

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A dead or dying phone or laptop is enough to send anybody on a mad dash to find a way to charge the device, but you might want to think twice before using that random cable found at an airport charging station or docking into that hotel USB port — hackers could be waiting.

 

....the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office is warning travelers about a USB charger scam, or “juice jacking.”

“A free charge could end up draining your bank account,” Luke Sisak, a deputy district attorney, said in a video posted online this month.

Juice jacking happens when unsuspecting users plug their electronic devices into USB ports or use USB cables that have been loaded with malware.

 

The malware then infects the devices, giving hackers a way in. They can then read and export your data, including your passwords, and even lock up the gadgets, making them unusable.

 

Juice jacking exploits the fact that somebody doesn’t have a full battery, said Liviu Arsene, a cyber security expert at BitDefender, a Romanian cybersecurity and antivirus software company.

 

Mr. Arsene cautioned against using USB cables found already plugged into charging stations or even given away as promotional gifts.

 

,,,,,Like scammers who steal debit card numbers by putting illegal card-reading devices, or skimmers, on A.T.M.s, hackers can easily rip out USB ports and replace them with their own malicious hardware, said Vyas Sekar, a professor at CyLab, a security and privacy research institute at Carnegie Mellon University.

 

[well]

I will make sure my power bank is always full then... 

[Qapla]

If you think you may need to use a public USB charging port - make sure you have a "power only" USB cord that fits your device.

 

You can get one that has changeable ends so it fits a number of devices. They usually are fairly inexpensive since all they do is charge and cannot transfer any data.