Malicious Charging Stations Might Be Stealing Your Data
August 21, 2011
We've been telling you a lot about keeping your iDevices secure lately, and while you'll probably never be the target of most threats we tell you about directly, at least you won't be able to say we didn't warn you. Today's threat to your privacy and data is one you probably never thought about: charging stations.
Indeed, stations that allow you to quickly charge your smartphone or another device on the go have grown popular over the last few years. Unfortunately, if installed by unscrupulous people, these can be used to access your cellphone and steal your information. The practice has already been dubbed "Juice-Jacking".
Yes, while the ones at the airport are probably safe, you can't always tell who is standing behind charging stations available in malls and other public spaces. As demonstrated by the researchers from Aires Security at this year's DEFCON and reported by KrebsonSecurity, it's possible for a malicious hacker to build such a honeypot of his own, install a computer inside and have it copy over all your smartphone data and details while you're charging. Often, this is possible even without you knowing. Anyway, you would never suspect it.
The takeaway is that next time you see a charging station, you might want to think twice before using it with your iOS device. The researchers recommend carrying your own charger with you, and plugging it into an outlet, which should keep you safe. If you don't have a choice, note that it might be safer to charge your smartphone while it's off, as it usually won't share any data in that state.
[Image Credit: Geeky Gadgets]