Are phone charging stations safe? Hackers can use them to steal info, officials say

We’ve all been there.

You just arrived at the airport and your phone needs a few minutes of charging to juice your battery before takeoff. But is that public cellphone charging station actually safe to use?

“No,” law enforcement officials say.

As millions of travelers pass through airports across the country this Thanksgiving weekend, it’s important to be aware of the risks posed by those handy charging stations at your gate. They could be hacked, officials say.

But there is a way to protect yourself.

Los Angeles County prosecutors sounded the alarm about the dangers of “juice jacking” in a news release. They say travelers should avoid using public USB charging stations at airports, hotels and elsewhere.

Cyber criminals upload malware onto the stations or plugged-in cables to infect phones. That means your passwords and data could be stolen by the scammers, officials said.

“Credit cards, passwords to banking accounts, your home address - all of that, if you’ve ever put it into the internet anywhere could potentially be saved in your history in your phone,” Deputy District Attorney Luke Sisak said, according to KABC.

To avoid getting hacked, the district attorney’s office provided a few tips:

• Use an AC outlet instead of USB.

• Pack a charging “block” or car charger in your bag.

• Buy a portable charger for emergencies.

Caleb Barlow, the former vice president of X-Force Threat Intelligence at IBM Security, said it’s important to remember that a USB outlet passes along data, according to Forbes.

“Plugging into a public USB port is kind of like finding a toothbrush on the side of the road and deciding to stick it in your mouth,” Barlow told Forbes. “You have no idea where that thing has been.”

This story was originally published November 14, 2019 at 3:14 PM.