Why shouldn't the phone be charged in public?

Public portable charging points can be a target for hackers, making your data unsafe.

Your phone battery is running low but you still need to surf Facebook. You see a USB charging port in public, plug in the phone and feel the sweetness of comment lines on Facebook.

That sense of comfort can make you a victim of hackers who want to collect your personal information.

"Just by plugging your phone into an unspecified charging source, your device is at risk of being infected with malicious code. You may have to pay for all your data," said security expert Drew Paik of Authentic8. explain.

Phone charging points and public Wi-Fi are often found in places like airports, airplanes, parks or convention centers. Connecting the phone at these charging points poses a small risk.

If the public charging port is hacked, the bad guys have unlimited access to your data.

The type of wire you use to charge your phone is also the data cord from the phone to another device. For example, when you connect your iPhone to your Mac with the charging cord, you can download photos from your phone to Mac. If the public charging port is hacked, the bad guys have unlimited access to your data, explains Paik.

Such data can be email, messages, photos or contacts. The method of hacking this information is called "juice jacking" - the term was created in 2011. Last year, people also discovered the "video jacking" method , using hacked and screened ports. Picture of the phone to record all what users type and look at.

Despite the high risk, most users are not aware of its level. A few days ago, Authentic8 built a charging station in its area at the RSA (San Francisco, USA) security conference, which provides charging cords to users.

They want to show off an informal test of how users use public mobile charging points. Paik said 80% of attendees connected their phones without asking a question about security.

"Most attendees plug in the charger without hesitation. They are attending a security conference and they should be more alert," he said.

Instead of using public charging stations, users should bring a mobile charger, security experts warned. In addition, they can buy different types of charging cords that cannot transmit data. However, the best way is still to use your own charger, Paik said.

"If you take security seriously, you should not use public charging."