Why is ‘Juice Jacking’ Suddenly Back in the News? – Krebs on Security

KrebsOnSecurity obtained a pleasant bump in visitors this week due to tweets from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Federal Communications Fee (FCC) about “juice jacking,” a time period first coined right here in 2011 to explain a possible menace of knowledge theft when one plugs their cell system right into a public charging kiosk. It stays unclear what could have prompted the alerts, however the excellent news is that there are some pretty staple items you are able to do to keep away from having to fret about juice jacking.

On April 6, 2023, the FBI’s Denver workplace issued a warning about juice jacking in a tweet.

“Keep away from utilizing free charging stations in airports, motels or purchasing facilities,” the FBI’s Denver workplace warned. “Unhealthy actors have found out methods to make use of public USB ports to introduce malware and monitoring software program onto gadgets. Carry your personal charger and USB twine and use {an electrical} outlet as a substitute.”

5 days later, the Federal Communications Fee (FCC) issued an identical warning. “Assume twice earlier than utilizing public charging stations,” the FCC tweeted. “Hackers could possibly be ready to realize entry to your private data by putting in malware and monitoring software program to your gadgets. This rip-off is known as juice jacking.”

The FCC tweet additionally offered a hyperlink to the company’s consciousness web page on juice jacking, which was initially revealed upfront of the Thanksgiving Vacation in 2019 however was up to date in 2021 after which once more shortly after the FBI’s tweet was picked up by the information media. The alerts have been so broadly and breathlessly lined within the press {that a} point out of juice jacking even made it into this week’s Late Late Present with James Corden.

The time period juice jacking crept into the collective paranoia of gadget geeks in the summertime of 2011, due to the headline for a narrative right here about researchers on the DEFCON hacker conference in Vegas who’d arrange a cell charging station designed to coach the unwary to the fact that many cell gadgets related to a pc would sync their knowledge by default.

Since then, Apple, Google and different cell system makers have modified the best way their {hardware} and software program works in order that their gadgets now not mechanically sync knowledge when one plugs them into a pc with a USB charging cable. As an alternative, customers are offered with a immediate asking in the event that they want to belief a related laptop earlier than any knowledge switch can happen.

Alternatively, the know-how wanted to conduct a sneaky juice jacking assault has change into way more miniaturized, accessible and low-cost. And there at the moment are a number of merchandise anybody should buy which are custom-built to allow juice jacking assaults.

In all probability the very best identified instance is the OMG cable, a $180 hacking system made for skilled penetration testers that appears kind of like an Apple or generic USB charging cable. However contained in the OMG cable is a tiny reminiscence chip and a Wi-Fi transmitter that creates a Wi-Fi hotspot, to which the attacker can remotely join utilizing a smartphone app and run instructions on the system.

The $180 “OMG cable.” Picture: hak5.org.

Brian Markus is co-founder of Aries Safety, and one of many researchers who initially showcased the menace from juice jacking on the 2011 DEFCON. Markus mentioned he isn’t conscious of any public accounts of juice jacking kiosks being discovered within the wild, and mentioned he’s uncertain what prompted the current FBI alert.

However Markus mentioned juice jacking continues to be a threat as a result of it’s far simpler and cheaper nowadays for would-be attackers to supply and construct the required tools.

“Since then, the know-how and elements have change into a lot smaller and really straightforward to construct, which places this within the arms of much less subtle menace actors,” Markus mentioned. “Additionally, now you can purchase all these items over-the-counter. I believe the danger is probably increased now than it was a decade in the past, as a result of a a lot bigger inhabitants of individuals can now pull this off simply.”

How severely ought to we take the current FBI warning? An investigation by the myth-busting website Snopes suggests the FBI tweet was only a public service announcement based mostly on a dated advisory. Snopes reached out to each the FBI and the FCC to request knowledge about how widespread the specter of juice jacking is in 2023.

“The FBI replied that its tweet was a ‘commonplace PSA-type publish’ that stemmed from the FCC warning,” Snopes reported. “An FCC spokesperson instructed Snopes that the fee needed to make it possible for their advisory on “juice-jacking,” first issued in 2019 and later up to date in 2021, was up-to-date in order to make sure ‘the customers have essentially the most up-to-date data.’ The official, who requested anonymity, added that that they had not seen any rise in situations of client complaints about juice-jacking.”

What are you able to do to keep away from juice jacking? Carry your personal gear. A normal rule of thumb in safety is that if an adversary has bodily entry to your system, you may now not belief the safety or integrity of that system. This additionally goes for issues that plug into your gadgets.

Juice jacking isn’t potential if a tool is charged by way of a trusted AC adapter, battery backup system, or by a USB cable with solely energy wires and no knowledge wires current. In case you lack this stuff in a bind and nonetheless want to make use of a public charging kiosk or random laptop, no less than energy your system off earlier than plugging it in.