Juice Jacking: So solltest du dein Handy nie aufladen

Public USB ports and third-party charger cables: never use to charge your mobile phone

Travelling can be an exciting adventure. To avoid dicey situations, good preparation is vital. This article introduces you to juice jacking and explains why you should never charge your smartphone at an airport-based USB port.

It can be very tempting: you are sitting comfortably in the departure hall, waiting for your boarding call. The perfect time to recharge your smartphone to enjoy the latest series or audio books on your long-haul flight. But behind the practical USB charging sockets at the airports, there can be a hidden danger.

Besides charging your phone, USB ports also load data onto your smartphone

The deceptive thing about the USB port: besides providing the mobile phone with electricity, it also supports data transmission. The smartphone is therefore vulnerable to malware, spyware or data theft from your photos or passwords. Since the charging stations are public, you never know who may have tampered with the USB port beforehand. Technically, this is known as juice jacking.

Caleb Barlow, Internet security expert at IBM Internet Security Systems, doesn’t mince his words in an interview: “Charging your phone on a public USB port is like using a toothbrush you just found in the street.”
Modern smartphones now ask when charging via USB whether to permit access to the phone data. Even if you deny access, this protection may not be sufficient. Therefore, always charge your smartphone using a power supply (adapter) or via a power bank and stay on the safe side.

Always use your own USB cable

Third-party charger cables also pose a potential risk. Modified USB charging cables can access your computer or smartphone and cause damage. Therefore, avoid using a charging cable from an unknown or dubious source. Be wary of giveaways too: fraudsters can easily print a malicious charging cable with an authentic-looking brand logo.

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Illustration of a man with a laptop

Hello everyone

With certain Android cell phones you can tell the cell phone whether:

What should do with the USB Anschluss when a cable is plugged in.

Just data

Shop only

Load & Data

But basically you should never blindly trust such USB ports in cars and airplanes. But this setting can reduce the risk.

On the newer trains there is a power socket practically everywhere to charge your cell phone or laptop.

Greetings Lorenz

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There are also power banks for emergencies and if you have to go without a smartphone for a few hours, that’s not a big deal in most cases.

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a year later

Thanks for the tip. I never thought it could be so dangerous! - In principle, I already use my own charger; - but what if you forget it at home while packing your luggage? WHAT SHOULD YOU DO IN A CASE SUCH AS THIS?

Are there safe options, or should you avoid using your cell phone during the entire vacation?

A helpful tip would be valuable! 👩‍🍳

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@Freiweinteuk58 If you don’t pack your charger, you can still buy a charging cable from an authorized reseller.

In Switzerland this is clearly any shop that seems somewhat reputable. For example Melectronics, Fust or Interdiscount. In Germany you can also rely on stores like Saturn or Mediamarkt.

I would just stay away from cables that can be bought at street shops (usually cell phone repair shops and whatever).

In other countries such as China or India, I would also make sure that you shop at an authorized partner or even an Apple Store, for example.

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Kærar kveðjur - herzliche Grüsse
Dominik

2 months later

It’s also called EvilCrow and can be found on some USB sticks, where it is installed with the driver and can be integrated into data/charging cables - if you even put something like this in your laptop - any data traffic can be read out without being noticed

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6 months later
2 years later

Good evening, I’m Barbara, I should buy the battery charger for my Samsung Fe21…. it doesn’t charge anymore. If I ask the hotline, will they send it to me? Thank you, have a good evening Barbara

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