The FBI recently warned consumers not to use free public charging stations, as doing so poses a significant security risk.
The FBI said scammers were able to break into public chargers to infect devices with malware that gives hackers access to smartphones, tablets or personal computers.
“Avoid using free charging stations at airports, hotels, or malls. Attackers have found ways to use public USB ports to inject malware and monitoring software into devices. Carry your own charger and USB cable and use an electrical outlet instead “.
The FBI offers similar advice on its website for avoiding public chargers. The security bulletin does not mention recent cases of user devices being hacked as a result of using public charging stations.
The Denver FBI office said the letter was advisory in nature and that there was no specific case that led to the warning.
The FCC has also been warning since 2021 of so-called “hacking”, which is a type of hacking of mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets that use the same wire for charging and data transfer, usually a “USB” wire.
The purpose of this type of attack is to install malware on a device or covertly copy potentially sensitive data.
At the time, the FCC warned that consumer devices with compromised USB cables could be compromised by software that could then extract usernames and passwords. The commission asked consumers to avoid these public stations.
