Wary of juice jacking? Grab a USB 'condom'

If you frequently juice up your mobile phone at public charging stations, it's time you owned a 'USB condom'. There's nothing kinky about this shield which is a small data blocker that turns a USB cable into a secure charge-only cord.

Days after the Mumbai police put the spotlight on 'juice jacking', a method used to steal data from a mobile phone when it is connected to a public charging station, experts said users themselves can protect their digital property through a USB 'condom'.

While a data blocker can set a person back by between Rs 4,000 and Rs 6,000, experts said, their importance can't be undermined considering that cybercrimes are on the rise.

Explaining the working of the 'condom', cyber expert Ritesh Bhatia said every USB and port has several channels to transfer power along with data. "The USB condom simply blocks the current on the data channels and allows the flow of power required for charging the phone only."

Once the data transfer mode is dysfunctional, no malware can enter the phone via the USB cable. "There may be other options like carrying a power-only cable too but the data blocker makes the task easier," Bhatia told DNA.

Advocate Puneet Bhasin, who is also a cyber law expert, said the data blocker is a fairly new concept in India. She said, "Juice jacking has existed in the West since 2011-12 whereas India is seeing a jump in data thefts with the advent of public charging stations."