Jakarta –
The FBI warned the public not to use free mobile phone charging facilities via USB at airports, malls and hotels. The warning was issued by the FBI via the FBI Denver Twitter account.
The FBI advises the public to stick with their own USB cables, chargers, portable chargers or external batteries.
“Bad actors have found a way to use public USB ports to inject malware and monitoring software onto devices,” FBI Denver tweeted.
So what should a Traveler do if the HP battery is running low and far from home? “Bring your own charger and USB cable and use a power outlet instead,” the organization advises.
The FBI offers similar guidance on its website, but the FBI’s field office in Denver said the Twitter messages were meant as advice and that no specific case was involved.
Quoting detikInet, smartphones can be hacked while charging the battery using a standard USB connection connected to a computer. This is not a figment.
In order to protect oneself from the risk of possible attacks by unknown charging devices and untrusted computers, Kaspersky Lab recommends the following:
- Only use trusted USB charging stations and computers to charge your device.
- Protect your smartphone with a password, or with other methods such as fingerprint recognition, and don’t unlock it while it’s charging.
- Use encryption technology and secure containers (protected areas on mobile devices used to isolate sensitive information) to protect data.
- Protect your mobile devices and PC / Mac against malware with the help of proven security solutions. This will help to detect malware even if using a vulnerable ‘filling’.
Watch Video “Dangers of Charging HP in Public Places “
(ddn/wsw)
