FBI Warns Against Using Public USB Ports Due to Malware Risk

[Mikey Radio]

FBI Warns Against Using Public USB Ports Due to Malware Risk

The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) last week warned users to stay away from public USB ports due to malware risks. On Twitter,...

www.macrumors.com

The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) last week warned users to stay away from public USB ports due to malware risks. On Twitter, the Denver FBI office (via CNBC) said that public charging stations in hotels, airports, and shopping centers can be a malware attack vector.

Bad actors have learned to use public USB ports to "introduce malware and monitoring software onto devices," the FBI said. When out in public, users should bring their own charger and USB cord, using an electrical outlet for charging purposes instead of a public USB port.
Apple's iPhones and Macs have a USB security feature that prevents the Lightning port from being used for data transfer purposes when it has been more than an hour since the device was unlocked, but this does not prevent malware installation if you are actively using your device and connect to a public port.

 

[Kelly A]

FBI Warns Against Using Public USB Ports Due to Malware Risk

The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) last week warned users to stay away from public USB ports due to malware risks. On Twitter,...

www.macrumors.com

Best thing is to just take your little 120VAC power cube along and plug the lightning or USB charge cable into it.

 

[Greg Goodfellow]

NewsNation just aired this story, with the term “juice jacking” describing this hacker phenomenon.

 

[RadioFan2J3]

A few years back, I purchased a pair of PortaPow Data Blockers, a USB in-line device which is said to block the lines with data transfer in USB cables, allowing the DC power to charge the device but not pass data either way.

Looking at Amazon's listings, these devices aren't expensive.

 

[Deleted User]

At least with the newer versions of Android, you have to allow the USB to do something other than charging like data transfer, etc but anyone that knows anything knew years ago that plugging in your device to unknown cables in public spaces was a really bad idea

And as for charging safely, there are tons of USB cables that are power only, the 2 wired for data are not there or not connected.

 

[Kelly A]

Some airlines like Alaska, have combination 120VAC/USB ports at each seat. Told my wife on a recent flight, to just use her cube charger and not the USB portion on the plane. She looked at me like I had three heads. (Even more than normal.)

 

[Mikey Radio]

Some airlines like Alaska, have combination 120VAC/USB ports at each seat. Told my wife on a recent flight, to just use her cube charger and not the USB portion on the plane. She looked at me like I had three heads. (Even more than normal.)

Yeah, many major airlines that offer "entertainment systems" in the seatbacks, especially on on longer-haul fights have added USB outlets. I also never use them..I just use my 120V/USB wall charger. Same goes for airports, hotels and restaurants that now offer USB jacks for charging.

A few years ago there was a news story about people and even cities that were embedding USB memory sticks in masonry walls, artwork, sculptures, etc. with the idea that users could either connect up to them and there would be images or information on them for people to enjoy, or people could view or leave files at will, just for fun. One story about those can be found below. Anyway, before long, surprise surprise, they were riddled with viruses and malware and that was about the only thing people were guaranteed to receive when they'd connect up to one.

These USBs Hidden in Walls Are Part of a Mysterious File-Sharing Scavenger Hunt

This artist hides USB flash drives in cities around the planet by embedding them into walls, fences, and curbs.

interestingengineering.com