Skip to main content

Don’t touch that outlet: Public chargers could let hackers steal your data

public charger exploit phone chargers danger 0001
Image used with permission by copyright holder
There’s an unlikely danger lurking in the corner of every coffee shop, airport, conference center, and public library: Power strips and chargers. CNN reports that “compromised” outlets — chargers clandestinely commandeered by hackers — can wreak havoc on your smartphone.

“Just by plugging your phone into a [compromised] power strip or charger, your device is now infected, and that compromises all your data,” Drew Paik, an executive at Authentic8, told CNN.

Ne’er-do-wells with the right skill set can rewire USB charging stations to extract stored data when an unwitting user plugs in a smartphone — a process colloquially known as “juice jacking.” That’s easier said than done — both Android and iOS phones prompt users before a file transfer can begin — but a relatively new attack, “video jacking,” requires a lot less effort on the hacker’s part.

As demonstrated last year by researchers at Krebson Security, the “video jacking” method employs custom electronics hidden inside what appears to be a USB charging station. As soon as a vulnerable phone is connected to the appropriate cord, it’s pretty much game over: The machine records a video of everything tapped, typed, and viewed as long as the handset is plugged in, including PINs, passwords, emails, texts, pictures, and videos. Even worse, it’s completely silent — there’s generally no warning on the phone to alert the user that the device’s video is being piped to another source.

Not every smartphone’s equally vulnerable, to be fair. Certain models of iPhone, Android, and HDMI-ready smartphones from Asus, BlackBerry, HTC, LG, Samsung, and ZTE are at higher risk than others. But it’s an attack to which hundreds of people fall victim every day.

As an experiment, Authentic8 set up a hacked charging station at its RSA security conference booth in San Francisco earlier this week. Over the course of the following few days, it found that an overwhelming majority of attendees — about 80 percent — connected their phones without asking about the security.

“The majority are plugging in no problem. They are at a security conference and they should know better, but they probably feel safe,” Paik told CNET. “The others are making fun of them. They just walk by and say, ‘Do people really do that?'”

The safest alternative to a public power outlet is a portable USB battery pack, or a USB cord that doesn’t transmit data. But generally speaking, you’re safest relying on your own charger.

“If [you’re] concerned about security, don’t use public ports,” Paik told CNET. “If [you’re] desperate and need to upload your selfie, take your chances.”

Kyle Wiggers
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Kyle Wiggers is a writer, Web designer, and podcaster with an acute interest in all things tech. When not reviewing gadgets…
How to change your iPhone’s notification sound in iOS 17
how to change iphone default notification sound ios 17 sounds screenshot

Apple made a change to the default notification sound when it launched iOS 17, replacing “Tri-tone” with “Rebound.”Users have been unable to switch back to the original sound or select a different one as the default, and not everyone is a fan of the new tune. As you'd imagine, that's left some folks rather annoyed.

Read more
5 things I want to see in the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and S Pen stylus on its screen.

The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is definitely one of the best smartphones on the market right now, no doubt about that. You get incredible performance with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip, plenty of RAM and storage, a whopping 200MP camera, two telephoto lenses for 3x and 5x optical zoom, S Pen integration, and more. It’s certainly an impressive package.

But it’s not perfect. In fact, some weaknesses could be improved in the next version, the Galaxy S25 Ultra. Here’s what I hope to see next year.
A new design
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra (left) and Galaxy S23 Ultra Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Read more
The Galaxy S24 just got a big camera update. Here’s what’s new
The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra in Titanium Orange and in Titanium Silver.

Samsung Galaxy S24 owners just received some great news. Samsung recently released an April software update that addresses various camera issues. Unfortunately, this update is only available in South Korea, but according to information posted on the Samsung Korea forum, it is expected to be released in other regions soon.

Firmware version S928NKSU1AXCA is almost 800MB in size. It includes improvements for lowlight images and image colors in Samsung's Expert RAW app, improved text clarity when zooming in photo mode, and support for 480 x 480 resolution when recording Instant Slow-Mo videos. The Galaxy S24 update for April builds on the improvements from the previous February release, which included enhanced zoom, portrait mode, night mode, and rear camera video capture capabilities.

Read more