I knew these things were too good to be true.
Yup, we all kinda knew it didn't we? There's always someone out there smart (and evil) enough to think of stuff like this.
The FBI recently warned consumers against using free public charging stations, saying crooks have managed to hijack public chargers that can infect devices with malware, or software that can give hackers access to your phone, tablet or computer.
Man, I love technology, but it seems the more advanced it becomes, the more opportunities hackers have to access our information — and that's scary. So I'm just glad the FBI is out here doing their actual job and warning us about it.
Now, luckily, there's not a recent incident of this hackery which has sprung the FBI into action with this warning — so that's good. Usually the warnings come after the crimes have already begun, so at least we have time to prepare ourselves and basically never use these charging stations again.
Kinda stinks that hackers ruined this convenience for the rest of us.
I mean, I've seen these things in airports, hotels, shopping malls, and even on the streets of some cities. How convenient is that, right?
Well, convenient no more…
The FBI offers similar guidance on its website to avoid public chargers. The bulletin didn't point to any recent instances of consumer harm from juice jacking. The FBI's Denver field office said the message was meant as an advisory, and that there was no specific case that prompted it.
The Federal Communications Commission has also warned about "juice jacking," as the malware loading scheme is known, since 2021.
Consumer devices with compromised USB cables can be hijacked through software that can then siphon off usernames and passwords, the FCC warned at the time. The commission told consumers to avoid those public stations.
Moral of the story: Stop spending so much time on your phone, you filthy animal. Live life in the real world like the rest of us and you won't need the convenience of an extra 20% charge on your walking idiot box every time you step out of your comfort zone.
Okay, that's not really the moral of the story, but I felt like the moment was right to hit you with that.
Anyhow, gotta go. Phone's running out of battery and I gotta click "publish."
