Fake public Wi-Fi networks are found to be more common than juice jacking

The term “juice jacking” gained widespread attention after the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) recently issued a warning to refrain the public from using charging facilities available in public areas, including shopping malls, hotels, restaurants, and even airports, as they can be used to install malicious files via charging cables.

Although juice jacking can pose a significant risk to any device, security professionals are now calling attention to an even more frequent but less severe threat arising from fraudulent public WI-FI networks.

With proper planning, such threats can be easily avoided. People are advised to use their personal mobile phone charging accessories or carry power banks with them while travelling. Although juice jacking is considered to possess potentially severe consequences, including data breach or tracking the victim, Candid Wuest, Vice President of Acronis, a Switzerland-based software house, believes fraudulent Wi-Fi networks are even more dangerous.

According to Candid, juice jacking despite resulting in more severe security breaches for smart devices, the probability of such attacks occurring is relatively lower than coming across phoney Wi-Fi networks. Although such attacks are feasible, they are not easy to execute. Malicious Wi-Fi points are widespread and can display login information for unencrypted services. Similarly, it becomes easy for threat actors to track victims’ browsing activities.

Candid did raise a valid point that it is convenient to shift onto a public Wi-Fi service to have speedy downloading. Just like juice jacking, such malicious Wi-Fi service assaults can also be easily countered. However, it needs some degree of mindfulness to reach this stage.

With such attacks becoming more frequent and dangerous, it is important to take precautionary measures whenever possible. Just like cyber attacks and scams, threats associated with juice jacking and malicious Wi-Fi networks are becoming more common. This is why, in order to spread awareness, the FBI issued a warning so people who use such facilities should understand the potential risk they are putting themselves at and how it can be avoided in order to protect their personal data from getting into the wrong hands.

Read next: List of brands used by cyber attackers in 2023 phishing campaigns
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World