The Transportation Security Administration (TSAfor its acronym in English) brought this to the attention of passengers possible scams related to the use of USB ports available at airports. The agency recommended not using them because they could be vulnerable to hacking.
At the beginning of 2025 The TSA had warned about the risks of using USB ports on its networks at airports. The authority explained this Hackers could install malware and thus access data from connected devices.
With this in mind, the agency recommends bringing your own chargers or external batteries to avoid dependence on public USB ports.
The TSA wasn’t the only agency to issue warnings about this. In 2023 The Federal Communications Commission had issued a similar message in your X account.
The Two pieces of advice from the organization were:
In return, he pushed “Carry a cable just for chargingwhich prevents data from being sent or received from a trusted provider during the charging process.”
Eric PlamManaging Director of the mobile access point company SIMO, spoke to Use it today and explained: “Whenever you exchange any kind of password… You need to be careful with the networks you are on“.
This is because the data may be vulnerable to fraudsters. This is increasing This is even more true when the user purchases online while connected to the network.
To counteract this situation, Plam recommended Password management tools that can protect and encrypt keys.
The expert also said that Another effective option is a VPN, a virtual private network.whenever possible. It doesn’t require a huge investment and adds an extra layer of security from your computer to any server you access,” he explained.
Instructions published by Forbes point this out iPhone users You should also consider changing the Wired Accessories option.by default set to “Automatically allow when unlocking”, “Always ask” or “Ask for new accessories”.
This modification allows Choose when to activate a connection to charge your phone and calls for greater attention to security breaches.
The Federal Communications Commission, in turn, says this is the case The scammer called Juice jacking, This involves installing malware on public USB charging stations.
Through this method, Malware can block a device or export personal data and passwords directly to the attacker.
To protect yourself from data theft, Users can purchase a USB data blocker. The device offers the opportunity to do this Charge your mobile phone without transferring personal data which can make cybercrime easier.
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