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Flight passengers need to know about a new way hackers can access personal information.
In a public statement posted to Facebook, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) warned that just simply plugging your phone into USB ports for a charge while sitting in the airport can be a cybersecurity risk. (See the video at the top of this article.)
“In this technology age, cybersecurity has never been more important,” TSA wrote in the post.
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“Hackers can install malware at USB ports (we’ve been told that’s called ‘juice/port jacking’).”
It continued, “So, when you’re at an airport, do not plug your phone directly into a USB port.”
The TSA is warning travelers not to plug their phones directly into USB ports at airports (as shown above). (iStock)
The agency instead suggested bringing a TSA-compliant power brick or battery pack to charge your devices.
TSA also reminded travelers not to use free public Wi-Fi, especially when planning to make online purchases.
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“Do not ever enter any sensitive info while using unsecure Wi-Fi,” the agency warned.
In an appearance on “Fox & Friends” earlier this week, Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson revealed that the issue with USB “juice jacking” in airports has grown.
“Criminals tamper with the popular USB charging ports that are located throughout the terminal when you’re at the airport,” a cyber expert said. (iStock)
“This is not new in terms of how they’re doing this,” Knutsson said.
“Criminals tamper with the popular USB charging ports that are located throughout the terminal when you’re at the airport, especially in the gate areas,” he said.
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“What they do is – you plug your phone in, and they’ve got something in front of it that then installs malware on your phone while it’s charging. [And] you’ve got no idea.”
Plugging a charging block directly into an outlet is a safer option, said an expert. (iStock)
Once the malware is installed, the hackers will search for sensitive and personal information such as passwords, banking information and credit card numbers, said Knutsson.
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Knutsson highly encouraged people not to plug the USB part of the phone charger into public ports, and instead to plug the charging block into an outlet.
