New Delhi: The Centre has warned citizens against using phone charging portals at public places such as airports, cafes, hotels, and bus stands. It has asked people to be cautious of the “USB charger scam”.
“Cyber criminals may use USB charging portals installed at public places such as airports, cafes, hotels, bus stands etc for malicious activities,” Indian Computer Emergency Response Team said in its post on X. It warned users that charging electronic devices at infected charging stations can lead to juice-jacking cyber attacks.
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What is juice-jacking?
As per the government website, “If your battery is running low, be aware that juicing up your electronic device at free USB port charging stations, such as those found in airports and hotel lobbies, might have unfortunate consequences. You could become a victim of ‘juice-jacking,’ yet another cyber-theft tactic.”
Charging devices at infected USB stations can make users susceptible to juice-jacking cyber attacks. Juice jacking is a cyber attack strategy wherein cyber criminals use public USB charging stations to steal user data or install malware on the devices that are connected to them.
When unsuspecting users plug their devices into such compromised charging ports, cyber-criminals can siphon off data or install malware onto the connected device. This may result in theft of personal information, installation of malware or ransomware, and even device encryption with ransom demands.
Cyber security experts warn that bad actors can load malware onto public USB charging stations to maliciously access electronic devices while they are being charged. Malware installed through a corrupted USB port can lock a device or export personal data and passwords directly to the perpetrator. Criminals can then use that information to access online accounts or sell it to other bad actors, the website said.
Best practices to prevent juice jacking
· Think twice before plugging into public charging stations or portable wall chargers.
· Use an Electric Wall outlet to charge your mobile device.
· Try to carry your own personal cable or power banks.
· Lock your mobile device and disable pairing with a connected device.
· Try to charge our phone when it is in a switched off state.
In case of cyber fraud, report incidents at www.cybercrime.gov.in or call 1930.
