For those who often travel to work or vacation to tourist attractions, you may use cell phones or gadget battery charging facilities in public places such as airports, terminals, stations, and other public spaces.
But did you know some risks can harm personal data on your cell phone when charging in a public place like that? Come on, see the full explanation!
Dangers of Using Charging Station Facilities in Public Places
An observer of digital culture and communication from one of the well-known universities said that data theft via data entry facilities in public places is becoming increasingly evident. According to him, it would be hazardous if cybercriminals could access the victim's cell phone data. This data is prone to be misused for harmful things such as falsification of identity to account breaches.
The data theft at the charging station was carried out using the USB format. This is done by criminals to infect these charging machines with malware and then steal cellphone data at the charging point.
This practice, also known as juice jacking, was introduced in 2011. Juice jacking is a hack method by modifying the battery charging station for gadgets using USB or USB charging.
Several cases of juice jacking have been discovered overseas, such as the case at Los Angeles International Airport in 2018, where a USB outlet in one airline's terminals was modified to perform juice jacking.
Another case occurred in Germany in 2019, where criminals managed to collect data from around 100 victims via modified charging cables at a music festival.
Tips to Avoid the Danger of Data Theft at Public Charging Stations
To avoid the practice of juice jacking or data theft at charging stations, there are several things you can do.
1. Avoid Using Unrecognized USB Cables or Outlets
If you find an unfamiliar USB cable or outlet at the charging station, you can bring your charging cable with you. Getting your charging cable is certainly safer than using a strange charging cable.
Currently, many charger cables function not only as power delivery but also to exchange data. To reduce the risk of data theft, you can use a cable that only acts as a power delivery. That way, you can block illegal access to cellphone data caused by using a charger cable to exchange data.
2. Use a Power Bank
When you are unsure about using charging station facilities in public places, you should bring a backup charging device such as a power bank which is relatively safer from data theft than charging facilities in public places.
3. Install Additional Security Applications
To avoid the practice of juice jacking, you can also install a security application. Currently, there are many security applications available in the Play Store. You can choose a credible and trusted security application to protect data on your cellphone.
That's a discussion about juice jacking or the dangers of charging cell phones in public places. Ensure you are careful when choosing a place to charge your cellphone so that your cellphone data and daily transactions are safe.
If you find a suspicious transaction in your account after charging your cellphone in a public place, report it immediately and contact the following Bank MAS customer care:
Call center: 1500011
Email: care@bankmas.co.id
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