By Catharine Hamm

Los Angeles Times

Those same ports you’re relieved to find when your electronic device is low on power have become a cause for worry.

“Juice jacking” is the devious practice by which bad guys hijack a public USB charging port and use it to steal information from your phone or tablet.

This isn’t a new problem, experts say, but it has returned to the radar not only because it’s the holiday travel season, but also because many of us rely on those chargers to get us through long days of travel, said Ron Culler, senior director of technology and solutions at ADT CyberSecurity.

“Just as you wouldn’t plug an unfamiliar USB drive into your laptop, you shouldn’t plug your phone into an unfamiliar USB charger,” Paul Bischoff, a privacy advocate with Comparitech, which offers security solutions and help, said in an email. “Our devices have fewer defenses against attacks from physically connected devices than (from) attacks from the internet. The malware can also be much more severe with physical access to hardware.”

Those evildoers know you are “an easy target when you’re traveling,” said Mike Borromeo, vice president of Stericycle. “You’re in a hurry; you just need a little power to get you through the flight.”

The consequences of such a lapse may lead to co-opted identity, he said.

Further, said Culler, you can’t always tell that something has happened to your phone. The longer the misuse goes unchecked, the greater the damage.

Besides avoiding those alluring charging points, you can thwart data thieves by using a regular plug in an outlet and your own charging cable, Culler said, or carrying a spare battery charger with you. (Do that anyway just in case your flight is delayed or you left your map app open and it sucked the life from your phone.)

Keeping yourself safe from those who would harm you? You’ve got the power.