Charging your phone in public ports and outlets could be giving hackers access to access to your device, and you wouldn't even know it, according to CNN.
Drew Paik, who works for a security firm called Authentic8, told CNN if you plug into what is called a "compromised" charger, your phone becomes infected and all your data becomes compromised.
So, how does this work? The cord you use to charge your phone is also used to send data from your phone to other devices, according to the CNN article. For example, you may use your charging cord to connect your phone to your computer.
If a hacker gets control of a port and compromises it, there's no limit to what information they have access to. This means, your texts, emails, photos, etc. become vulnerable. CNN says researchers call this "juice hacking."
CNN says researchers demonstrated "video jacking" by using hacked ports and a phone's video display to record everything that was typed and looked at on the phone.
Security firms recommend investing in a portable USB battery pack to avoid using USB ports and charging outlets.
