Fearmongering over public charging stations needs to stop. Here’s why

Fearmongering over public charging stations needs to stop. Here’s why

a year ago
Anonymous $QMjB47b2Hv

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2023/05/fearmongering-over-public-charging-stations-needs-to-stop-heres-why/

Federal authorities, tech pundits, and news outlets want you to be on the lookout for a scary cyberattack that can hack your phone when you do nothing more than plug it into a public charging station. These warnings of “juice jacking,” as the threat has come to be known, have been circulating for more than a decade.

Earlier this month, though, juice jacking fears hit a new high when the FBI and Federal Communications Commission issued new, baseless warnings that generated ominous-sounding news reports from hundreds of outlets. NPR reported that the crime is "becoming more prevalent, possibly due to the increase in travel." The Washington Post said it's a “significant privacy hazard” that can identify loaded webpages in less than 10 seconds. CNN warned that just by plugging into a malicious charger, "your device is now infected." And a Fortune headline admonished readers: "Don’t let a free USB charge drain your bank account."