If you frequently travel or work from coffee shops, you might not hesitate to use a public charger to charge your phone, tablet, or laptop. Although using a public charger has always been controversial, the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) lists various reasons why it might not be a good idea.
It is advised not to use a public charger in locations like airports, hotels, or shopping malls, according to a tweet from the FBI Denver. The term “public charger” refers to a wall outlet with an integrated USB-A or USB Type-C connection. The Federal Bureau advises visitors to use the power outlet to charge gadgets and to bring their own power adapter and data connection.
The Bureau claims that “bad actors have figured out ways to use public USB ports to introduce malware and monitoring software onto devices,” making it unsafe to borrow a charger from someone you don’t know or to use one that is available in a public area.
With this, hackers could quickly install malware on your computer or phone, use it to access different services, and potentially steal money and personal information. Therefore, it is not recommended to utilize a pre-built USB port or to borrow a charging cable from a stranger because both of these options could easily wirelessly broadcast the data to a distant device.
