Public smartphone charging Kiosks can be used to hack or write malicious software to steal data

An experiment was undertaken during the DefCon conference, where a Kiosk with nothing more than a screen on a station that offers free power to passers by charge their mobile phone. Once the device was connected, a computer hidden inside the device would then automatically connect to the users phone.

Once a direct connection was made with the smartphones, the malicious software planted on the kiosks could extract all of the data on the phone, or even copy a piece of selected malware into the phone’s OS. The kiosks can even access those android smartphones’ that have their data privacy settings set to “charge only”.

Although this was just an experiment, it’s an eye opener to many of us that there is a potential harm to you and your data on your phone. The team did find during the experiment that most phones do not give up information when the phone is powered off, but recommends you to use the cable that is included with your smartphone.

Source: Geek