How Juice Jacking Works

Juice jacking works via pairing. Pairing is a method most of us are familiar with. We connect, for example, our iPad or iPhone to our laptops so that a trusted relationship can be established between the two devices, and tools such as XCode and iTunes can talk to the computer. The computer can now access a host of details like music, SMS database, notes, and address book through this trusted link. Now, the fact is, the computer can even initiate a complete backup of the phone’s database. This is exactly how juice jacking works, and even the most sophisticated of smartphones find it impossible to fight this problem; simply because the same USB cable transfers power as well as data.

In juice jacking, the seemingly innocuous USB charging port that you use in a public charging booth is attached to a computer at the other end, hidden inside the charging booth. Because data and power are supplied by the same wire/cable, all your information stored in your phone – be it photos or contacts, get downloaded onto the hacker’s hidden computer within a matter of minutes. The hacker’s computer can also upload dangerous codes to your smartphone that corrupts your smart device’s software. You, of course, don’t see this happening.