Jakarta, INTI - “Mudik” in Indonesia is well known as the trip to travel back to one's hometown, usually during Eid al-Fitr holiday. During mudik, public places like airports, stations, terminals, or rest areas often provide charging facilities for thousands of travellers.
However, aside from charging phones or other devices, there could be individuals who target the charging facility to do cyber attacks like Juice Jacking.
Juice jacking is a cyber attack method that uses public USB ports to unlawfully access data or send malware to connected devices.
Juice jacking method operation is carried out by cybercriminals by modifying public USB charging stations. They modify the stations to be able to do data communication with victims’ devices.
After victims connect their devices, like mobile phones or tablets, into the USB port to charge the battery, the modified USB port system will be able to run malware in unlocked devices. If the program successfully enters the device, cybercriminals can access and steal the victims’ personal data, as well as install dangerous files or applications.
How to Prevent Juice Jacking
For mudik travellers, it is important to know how to prevent this cyber attack, especially during the peak season of the mudik period, when public areas are more crowded, and USB charging ports are used more often.
These are the better ways for you to prevent your device from getting juice jacked:
- Use your personal charger and adaptor to charge your device
- Avoid using public USB charging stations
- Use an electric socket, if available, to charge your device
- Prepare power banks as an alternative electricity source
Conclusion
Juice jacking is a cyber attack that exploits public USB charging ports to steal data or install malware on connected devices. During the mudik travel period, when many people use public charging facilities in crowded places like airports and rest areas, the risk can increase. Therefore, travellers are advised to be cautious by avoiding public USB ports, using their own chargers and adapters with electric sockets, and preparing power banks as a safer alternative to protect their devices and personal data.
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