Juice jacking: can public USB chargers steal your data? Fake or fact
Can airport USB chargers steal phone data? What the FBI, FCC and the ChoiceJacking research say, and how to charge safely while traveling.
Every so often the warning resurfaces: don't charge your phone at USB ports in airports, hotels or malls, because criminals could load malware or copy your data through the cable. It's called juice jacking. Fake or fact? Short answer: the risk is real in the lab and was demonstrated by researchers, it has been largely patched in updated systems, and no real-world cases have been publicly documented.
Did the FBI confirm real attacks?
No. In April 2023 the FBI's Denver field office posted a warning against free charging stations and advised carrying your own charger and cable. As CNBC reported, the bulletin cited no recent instances of consumer harm. The FCC has warned about juice jacking since at least 2021, according to the same report. A 2025 Kaspersky analysis also says no real-world attacks have been publicly documented.
So is it a myth? What ChoiceJacking showed
Not quite. At USENIX Security 2025, researchers from Graz University of Technology presented ChoiceJacking: a malicious charger can spoof user input and approve its own data connection, bypassing the old “trust this computer?” prompt. The attacks worked on every tested device from eight vendors, including the top six, and could expose photos, documents and app data. Google, Samsung, Xiaomi and Apple acknowledged the findings. Per Kaspersky, Apple blocked the attack in iOS/iPadOS 18.4 and Google in Android 15, which now require a passcode or biometrics for USB data; Samsung devices on One UI 7 may still not ask.
Verdict
| Claim | Verdict |
|---|---|
| A public USB port can, in theory, reach phone data | Fact (shown in research) |
| There is a wave of real victims | No public evidence |
| An updated phone is fully immune | Overstated; depends on vendor |
| Your own charger in a wall outlet is safe | Fact: no data channel |
How to charge safely while traveling
- Update your OS before the trip.
- Use your own charger in a wall outlet, or your own power bank.
- Avoid cables left at kiosks or handed out for free.
- If you must use a public USB port, watch the screen and choose “charge only” or decline any data prompt.
- USB data blockers and charge-only cables work, but test them first and expect slower charging.
For most travelers the bigger risks remain phone theft, fake bookings and tampered QR codes.
Read next
- Stolen phone: Android and iPhone settings to turn on now
- Tourist scams and how to avoid them
- Fake parking QR codes
- Protection tips
Source
- USENIX Security 2025 — ChoiceJacking (TU Graz)
- Kaspersky — ChoiceJacking protection
- CNBC — FBI warning on public charging (2023)
- NBC Washington — FCC/LA DA warning (2019)