Where is the most dangerous place to charge your phone? The answer surprised many people

James Goepel, a professor of cybersecurity at Drexel University and CEO of Fathom Cyber, said that charging stations in public places appear to be a very convenient solution, but in fact have high risks.

” Charging stations or USB devices in public places can be easily modified by crooks to get into your phone, including installing malware. This is where you should never charge it,” said Mr. Goepel.

Airport

Airports are equipped with many charging stations to serve customers, but trusting unknown devices can put you in danger.

Jason Glassberg, CEO of Casaba Security said: “Often, the places where people are in a hurry, or don’t think about the security of their devices, are the places that the bad guys take advantage of to set up. these types of attacks “.

As a precaution, you should bring your own plug and charging cable.

Train station

According to Jack Vonder Heide, president of Technology Briefing Centers Inc., crooks often tend to modify USB charging ports to infiltrate and extract data from people’s phones.

For example, they can set up free charging stations at bus stops or train stations. When people plug their phones into a USB charging port, their sensitive data is instantly copied.

Therefore, if you need to charge your phone in public, it is best to plug the USB cord into a 110volt adapter, or invest in a protective device that prevents data from being extracted from the phone.

Hotel

Do you think a hotel is a place where privacy can be guaranteed? In addition to concerns about hidden cameras, experts also warn about the risk of using USB charging ports at hotels.

According to Mr. Glassberg, crooks can “set up a situation that allows them to obtain data or install malware on your device, without your knowledge”.

Car rental

Nowadays, rental cars can be equipped with a USB charging port, which is very convenient. However, Stacey Clements, a small business cybersecurity consultant, recommends using a plug-in adapter and investing in a portable charger.

Tourist attraction

When you’re traveling and your phone runs out of battery, you may want to use the public charging stations available at many tourist attractions. However, that poses the risk of your device being compromised, crooks can even perform some tricks to turn on your camera or microphone remotely.

Shopping malls

You can also get in trouble if you use public charging stations at shopping malls. ” The USB charger can connect to your phone and extract contacts, emails, text messages, voicemails, photos and videos, ” says Rich Smith of Reege’s Tech Reviews.

” Or they can also copy passwords, banking data, personal contacts and other data stored on the phone. USB hubs at public charging points can even transfer programs, such as such as malware to your phone, ” said Mr. Smith.

Library

The library may seem like a safe space, but you should still avoid plugging your mobile device into any USB port that is out of your control.

Clay Miller, chief technology officer of SyncDog, said: “The use of charging stations at libraries can be safe, but there is also the risk of data extraction. There is currently no method to identify charging stations where they are located. public has been violated in some way, so you should put the safety factor on high so that you won’t regret it later .”

Coffee shop

J. Eduardo Campos, a former Microsoft executive and cybersecurity expert, said that cybercriminals are installing hidden readers and downloaders at public USB charging stations. So, when you charge your phone while sipping a drink in a coffee shop, you could be paving the way for identity theft.

” Worse, they could give your information to an unknown party, and your phone could be infected with malware,” Campos said. your phone and wait to collect financial data, sensitive information, or use your data plan to make fake transactions” .