Giving some extra juice to your phone through a public charging station is always an easy option, but it may not be a safe. As described in a new report by NordVPN, cyber criminals can now turn into a trick called choicezacing, in which they are able to transfer data from your phone to a device disguised as charger.
What is choice?
With this new method, a malicious device that looks like an innocent charging station or port manipulates various tasks on your phone. In doing this, your phone is cheated in connecting the device through data transfer mode without your input or permission. Once he gets a connection, the criminal’s equipment can access and steal your photos, documents, contacts and other individual files.
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“The choicezacking is particularly dangerous because it manipulate a device in a device to make a device, which never intends users – all without realizing it,” NordVPN’s Cybercity Advisor Adrians Warmenhowan said in the report. “Whether it is providing access to data or downloading malware, these attacks take advantage of the trust done by us in everyday conversations with our smartphone.”
Advanced up juice
Choicejacking is actually a more advanced upgradation for chronic exercises of juice quiet. With juicejacking, hackers install software at charging stations in airports and other public places that can then automatically scoop data from your connected phone. In some cases, your phone may be locked, which can prevent you from stopping the transfer before too long.
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Juicejacking first pop up back in 2011. But in a win for good people, mobile OS developers cooked a way to prevent this danger. Suppose a smartphone connects to a charging station. If the station indicates that it supports the media transfer protocol (MTP) or Picture Transfer Protocol (PTP) for data transfer, it means that it is likely to apply a hacker device to the charging station. In that case, the user is asked whether they want to allow data transfer or only want to charge the phone.
But in the latest twist, researchers from Graz University of Technology found in Austria A way to bypass OS-level security against juiceMalibly equipment can now apply USB or Bluetooth input device to enable data transfer mode. While affecting Android and sometimes iOS devices, this strategy can use such technical methods such as kistroque injections, input buffer overflows, and protocol misuse to complete data transfer in 133 milliseconds.
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“The choice of choice represents a dangerous development in public charging dangers,” said Warmanhowan. “With a single misleading signal, attackers can enable people to enable data transfer, potentially highlight individual files and other sensitive data. Public USB ports should never be considered safe, and awareness is the first line of defense.”
How to prevent your phone from getting choice
Nordvpn provides the following tips:
- Ensure that your phone is updated with the latest OS version and safety patch.
- Prevent your phone’s battery charge from falling below 10% to avoid recharging in public place.
- Instead of using a public charging port, take a portable power bank or external battery to juice your phone.
- Instead of using the USB port at public charging stations in hotels and airports, take your own USB adapters and cables and use a standard AC outlet.
- If possible, keep your phone in mode to avoid any unwanted data transfer.
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