The federal law enforcement agency said that public phone charging sites are vulnerable to “bad actors”
The FBI has urged Americans to stay away from free phone charging stations found at airports, hotels and other public places, saying they could be used to hack into citizen’s devices and may pose a threat to privacy.
While it’s unclear what prompted the advice, the bureau’s Denver office recently made a case against public charging sites in a social media post, reflecting a similar guidance offered on the FBI’s website.
“Avoid using free charging stations in airports, hotels or shopping centers. Bad actors have figured out ways to use public USB ports to introduce malware and monitoring software onto devices,” it said, suggesting people “Carry [their] own charger and USB cord and use an electrical outlet instead.”
The FBI is not the only federal agency to issue a warning about the phone chargers, with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) also claiming that malicious actors can use USB ports to transfer malware onto the devices of unsuspecting users – a tactic it dubs “juice jacking.”
Such malware can provide access to sensitive data, including passwords, which could be used for various forms of identity theft.
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