Juice jacking refers to malicious activity through USB charging ports or unfamiliar USB cables that can result in malware injection or data theft. The threat is real and was demonstrated by security researchers through a POC more than a decade ago. Devices like the O.MG cable, available online for under $200, are specifically designed to exploit this attack vector by emulating HID class devices and silently injecting keystrokes without any involvement from the OS or the user.
However, this attack is extremely rare and is likely to occur only in highly targeted scenarios. Even so, there are no documented cases of a real-world incident since the POC was published. The odds of an average user being victimized by it are lower than the odds of being struck by lightning 😃. For the attack to succeed, the attacker must be physically close, within Wi-Fi range of the embedded chip inside the malicious cable, or the device can connect to an attacker-controlled access point to extend the reach. It also depends on tricking the device into joining the access point it creates. Most public charging stations are simply power sources. Even when data lines are present, some platforms like iOS have built-in restrictions that make exploitation difficult. Unfortunately, most popular operating systems such as macOS, Android, Windows, and Linux all trust HID class devices by default, which means a malicious cable could execute commands immediately without any consent from the user or the operating system.
In summary, for an average person, juice jacking is not a practical concern. The hype surrounding it often borders on sensationalism. If you are concerned, avoid the paranoia and use a data blocker. Alternatively, as shown in the picture below, you can modify a regular USB cable by cutting the green and white data lines and leaving only the red and black power lines intact, then taping it all back together. This is essentially what a data blocker does. It is a simple and effective solution that gives you control, rather than relying on the operating system or trusting the power source or a third-party data blocker to protect your device.
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