Computer criminals have found a new method to steal the data of their victims, the free charging points that we can find in hotels, shopping centers and airports. So much so, that the FBI has issued an alert to users so that they do not fall for this type of data theft.
The security agency has published a tweet warning about what it has called ‘hacking by load’, in which it gives users a series of recommendations to avoid it. First of all and most importantly, you have to bring your own cable and charger and do not trust the one that may be already attached or provided by a third party.
Also, according to the FBI, it is very important that the hook occurs in a charging point that is embedded in the wall and does not have any ‘bridge’ device that is between our terminal and the charging point.
This alert does not respond to any particular case nor does it seem to be linked to an increase in data theft using this method, but it is the second security agency to warn about this practice.
The US telecommunications regulator (FCC) was the first to ensure that hackers can steal usernames, passwords and other files through ‘load hacking’. In addition, he reported that not only mobile phones can be affected. Computers, tablets and even video game consoles can be attacked in this way.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project