Can you be infected by a computer virus simply by recharging your smartphone on a USB socket? The answer is “yes” and this type of attack is called ” juice jacking ».
Appeared in 2011, and rather reserved for espionage since it was the NSA which had been the first to alert on this type of hacking, this practice is about to become generalized since the FBI advises against using free phone chargers in public places such as stations, trains, libraries and airports.
However, it is very practical to take advantage of the USB sockets made available to us to connect our smartphone, tablet or even computer, and it is precisely via the USB socket that hackers can act. Either the cable is trapped or the plug.
Two methods for hackers. Either they take advantage of the connection to install malicious software on the device. A kind of Trojan horse that will allow them to access the content of the smartphone.
Either they directly transform the device into an external device, in which case all content becomes accessible, as if it were a hard drive.
Several solutions to avoid any hacking
If USB sockets are used for malicious purposes, it is because they have five branches, and in fact only one is used for power. Two others are used for data transfer, and the last two are there to indicate the connection of a device and ground.
How to guard against it? As the FBI suggests, the ideal is to carry your own smartphone charger, USB cord and use an electrical outlet instead.
Another solution: get an external battery that we find today for a few tens of euros. It can also be recharged at any self-service terminal since it contains no data and cannot be hacked.
Once recharged, you can then use it to recharge your smartphone or any electronic device.
On the left, we can see that the pins that manage the data transfer are blocked. This accessory allows you to connect in a public place without fear of hacking © PortaPow
A few euros to protect your smartphone from hackers
The other solution is simply to disable data transfer when the device is plugged in, and the option is available in the smartphone settings whether you have an iPhone or an Android model. There is also an option to lock your device each time you connect it.
Finally, there are also boxes similar to USB keys that are very seriously called “USB condoms”.
As their name suggests, they act as a “condom” to prevent any data leakage. How ? They block the two branches of the USB socket dedicated to data transfer. Their price? About 4 euros. Not very expensive to protect against hackers.
