Gear to Block ‘Juice Jacking’ on Your Mobile
Summary: Krebs on Security reviews two USB pass-through devices, the USB Condom and the Juice-Jack Defender, that allow charging while blocking data transfer over a USB cord, a threat dubbed "juice-jacking" that surfaced after DefCon researchers set up a charging kiosk in 2011. The USB Condom measures about 54 mm by 20 mm and retails for $9.99 with free shipping, while the Juice-Jack Defender is smaller at roughly 45 mm by 16 mm, feels sturdier, and is only taking pre-orders with no listed price.
Bottom line: The article's own fallback advice is to power the device off before plugging into a random kiosk, which puts the burden on the traveler rather than the kiosk operator. Commenters note that leaving the data pins disconnected can cap charging at the USB 1.1/2.0 rate of 500mA, so the protection carries a practical cost.
Read the original at Krebs on Security ↗
- Topics
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