We all run into situations where we need to plug in a phone or laptop to get a little extra power. Whether it’s waiting for a delayed flight at the airport or maybe just plugging in to the shared USB-C plug in the back of an Uber. When you plug directly into an USB port or cable that isn’t yours, there’s a risk that you might get more than a little extra battery life. There’s always a small chance that you could get “juice jacked”.
What is Juice Jacking?
There are proven methods where someone with the skills to modify a USB charging port can alter it in a way that your device gets infected with malware when you connect to it. This is because USB cables are used to pass both power and data between the two ends of the cable.
If you only use the wall power adapter that comes with your charging cable and plug into dedicated power outlets when you are charging away from home, the risk of juice jacking is effectively zero. Power outlets and your wall adapter are only designed to use the power portion of the USB connection.
Many times I’ve needed power, using the wall adapter wasn’t an option. One recent example was when I drove a rental car that only had USB-C and USB-A connections. I’ve also been on airplanes that only offered USB as a way to charge your device. Theoretically both of these scenarios are instances when I could have been juice jacked.
How Common is Juice Jacking?
I haven’t seen any hard data on the frequency of juice jacking. It’s a little like the warnings that happen around having your debit card compromised when you pay at the pump to refill your car—it’s happened to more than one person, but isn’t something that happens all the time. Better to be safe than sorry since it’s fairly easy to eliminate the possibility of being juice jacked.
How Can you Prevent Juice Jacking?
I already mentioned that using the power outlet adapter with your phone is an easy way to make sure your phone is only connecting to access a power source. When that’s not an option, a USB data blocker is a solid alternative.
A USB data blocker is a device that connects to the end of your charging cable and forces the connection to only use the power portion of your devices USB port. USB data blockers are typically available to connect to either USB-C or USB-A cables, so you need to know which kind of cable you have before buying one. For most modern Android phones, you’ll be able to use a USB-C model. For iPhones, it really depends on whether you have an older iPhone with a lightning connection or a newer one with USB-C.
The other thing you want to look for is a USB data blocker that can detect your phone’s charging capabilities. Many phones have the ability to charge faster depending on what type of charger they are connected to. Very basic data blockers prevent this detection ability and will cause your device to charge slower than without the data blocker.
One company that’s done a great job innovating in the USB data blocker space is PortaPow. Their 3rd generation devices support faster charging for Apple and Samsung devices, along with other manufacturers. They also make it very that the data connection aren’t available with printed words where the data connection would normally be as shown below.
PortaPow has options in both USB-C and USB-A depending on your needs. As of this writing, you can get a two pack of either type of adapter for $9.99, which is quite affordable for piece of mind.
I purchased a two-pack of each type for the convenience of always having the right protection for any USB outlet I encounter.
Bonus Benefit of USB Data Blockers
Many companies use IT policies to block connecting an external USB device (like your phone) to the USB ports on company laptops. This is to prevent company owned data from being transferred off to your phone. Using a USB data blocker to connect your phone causes your laptop to see it as any other peripheral that just needs power, which will allow you to charge from the company laptop.
