Posted on 04/11/2023 12:01:04 PM PDT by Twotone
It’s a fast way to give your phone some juice that could also give hackers direct access to your information.
The FBI has issued a serious warning against using free public phone chargers, saying cunning delinquents have been known to use the USB ports to infect phones with dangerous malware and software that can give hackers access to your phone, tablet or computer.
“Avoid using free charging stations in airports, hotels or shopping centers,” a tweet from the official FBI account read. “Carry your own charger and USB cord and use an electrical outlet instead.”
The Federal Communications Commission previously warned about “juice jacking,” which is what the hijacking is known as, in 2021.
The FCC said malware bandits have been known to install infected USB ports that can export personal data and passwords directly to them from the phone.
Criminals can use that information to access online accounts or sell it to other bad actors, according to the FCC website.
The FBI recommends creating a strong and unique password for every online account — and changing them regularly.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
They don’t want competition.
Ooooh, scary!
Just don’t stick your charge in crazy. Common sense.
https://www.amazon.com/USB-Defender-Transfers-Smartphone-Guaranteed/dp/B01MXRQ4TZ
The cheap easy solution to carry with you. Always use in places like China or the EU.
Plug your charging cable into this, and this into the public port. Far safer.
Even better, carry your own auxiliary battery and charge from that. They are pretty good these days.
Jeez just get a power only USB cable for less than ten bucks -done.
Thanks FiBIes...
Your really watching.
/$
I guess the rule of “don’t stick it where it don’t belong” has taken on another meaning.
And I wonder which country they’re comin from??????
What they’re not saying is more interesting than what they are.
Who might these “hackers” be, who can compromise hardware made in.....China?
makes you wonder just how many FBI agents were running this op and who in the organization they forgot to payoff???
This is old old news, but I guess worth reminding.
Or, carry a small battery that can be used to charge your phone. Charge it on the free terminal and then swap its cables over to the phone. Since a battery has no digital storage like a phone, a virus cannot infect it. Such batteries are no larger than a AA battery.
Xi Jinping probably bugged them.
The biggest risk of an unauthorized hack of your phone is from the FBI itself.
Oh the irony of trusting a Chinese data delete dongle to protect you from Chinese data theft...
LMAO, that’s rich coming from the FBI.
Use a charging cable that only uses the power lines on the USB port. Don’t connect the data lines.
Pin outs on USB:
1 VCC Red +5 VDC
2 D- White Data -
3 D+ Green Data +
4 GND Black Ground
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