Juice Jacking-Causes and Prevention

Does the term “Juice Jacking” sounds familiar to you? If no, then let us understand what does juice jacking mean and how does it relate to you.

In this hi-tech world, we are very much dependent on the gadgets like smartphones, tablets etc. These gadgets play a major role and are an integral part of our lives nowadays. We are just a call away from our near ones. Also, we are a click away to know anything about the world. Thanx to digitalization in making our life easy although there are certain fears of digitalization too.

In this process of easy life, how many times are you charging your gadgets? I guess, we charge our gadgets with public charging ports in public areas sometimes in an emergency if it is the need of the hour. Public areas are corresponding to restaurants, clubs, airport, bus stands, railway station etc. Do you also charge your gadgets in public places? If yes, then pull up your socks. You are going to be an easy target for cybercriminals.

Juice jacking is a specific type of cyber attack. In this attack, cybercriminals use a USB charging port to install malware on your device. As a result, it copies all your data from gadget to paired device.

Juice Jacking

In today’s world, advance and compact technology are creating wonders. We all use the same cable to solve our purpose of data streaming as well as charging the gadgets. These gadgets can easily pair with some hidden devices that may be connected with charging ports in public area. It generally happens when gadgets start with its charging. When the device is paired with the connected system, it is vulnerable to external agents or cybercriminals. As a result, external agents gain complete access towards data in the device including cache files. Cybercriminals use public chargers to install malware or malicious code on your gadget and steal data. Juice jacking is the process of using public chargers which are malicious in nature to insult malware on connected devices like smartphone, tablets etc.

Juice Jacking – Causes and Prevention

Broadly if I say then it’s individual himself who is responsible for making personal device vulnerable. Common sense along with carefulness together are best to prevent juice jacking.

Keep the device charged:- As and when devices are not in use and are in idle state, it is always advisable to keep them fully charged. This helps to keep our mind free from botheration of charging the devices and hunting for charging ports.
Always carry a battery bank:- Concept of carrying a battery bank keeps your gadget safe and away from such infections. The market is full of the variety of battery banks which helps in charging gadgets as soon as it gets drained out. Carrying a battery bank also avoids the option of connecting your gadget with any of the charging ports at public places.
Avoid using USB Chargers:- By any chance, if you are in need of using public charging port then it is always good to avoid using USB chargers. Instead of using USB chargers, it is always good to use various AC / DC adapters that support the gadget.
Device to keep as Switched-Off:- Keeping devices in switched-off mode is another way to avoid juice jacking. It is always advisable to keep the devices in the switched-off mode as any call can wait to be called back till device has a desirable amount of charge available.
Use USB Condoms:- USB Condom prevents your device to exchange data on its connection to a public charging port with a USB cable in a vulnerable environment. USB Condom is a small dongle that enables data cable to work as charge-only cable. As a result, it disconnects the data transfer pins of USB port electronically and it allows only power to flow. Using USB Condoms also help in preventing Juice Jacking.

Conclusion

We as a human are using digital technology that is there for betterment. Small ignorance of individuals leads towards a clue to cyber criminals and generally leads to major disasters like data leakage. It’s we only, who are responsible for the 1st line of defense for keeping the data safe.

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