Juice Jacking: digital theft on a low charge

Staff Commentary

It seems we have been told that the technological revolution that brought us into the age of computers, wireless internet, and chipped credit cards will make our lives easier and more protected.

And yet nary a month passes where the media isn’t inundated with reports of wire fraud, hacked email accounts, and stolen credit card numbers. In 2013, it was Target’s card readers; in 2016 it was Hillary Clinton’s server and Yahoo’s email services; Now, there’s a new contender for most irritating cyber exploitation: Juice Jacking.

Juice Jacking is the theft of your personal data while you charge your phone at one of those convenient little charging stations in the mall or at the car dealership.

And like credit card reader data theft, thieves connect their equipment in between the data port on your phone and an inconspicuously hidden device. You get your phone charged, and at the same time, the hidden device drains your memory – of photos, phone numbers, email addresses, sticky notes – of anything that dark web conspirators can use to go for the big money, like your identity.

You’d think that with all these modern conveniences, the “Internet of Things,” and increasing cyber theft, that security of customers would be a top priority. But alas, the idea that consumers should be protected from interlopers has yet to catch on with software companies and their outsourced programmers.

Juice Jacking, much like the “free Wi-Fi” exploits that were big a few years back, takes something good (mall freebies meant to keep you shopping, price checking, all while making sure you don’t leave before supporting the economy) and spoils it by creating fear and concern.

How canwe as consumers protect ourselves from Juice Jacking and other charger/USB port invasions while out and about?

1. One option is to bring your own charger if you plan to charge your device in a public setting. Many of these charging stations have regular power sockets that aren’t susceptible to hacking.

2. Or look into purchasing a back-up battery or personal charger.

Or maybe, just maybe, instead of surfing the internet while strolling through the mall, we could all put our collective phones away and focus a little more on what matters in life: people and real, human interaction.