Having discovered that fraudsters are now leveraging people’s ignorance of the risk attached to their mobile phones at public charging stations, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has tutored members of the public on how to protect their phones from getting hacked.
In a statement addressed to members of the public, NCC said fraudsters gain unauthorised entry into unsuspecting mobile phone users’ devices when they charge their mobile phones at public charging stations, adding that there are ways to prevent them.
The commission’s preferred solutions include using ‘charging only USB cable’ to avoid Universal Serial Bus (USB) data connection; using one’s AC charging adaptor in public space, and not granting trust to portable devices prompt for USB data connection.
“Other preventive measures against Juice Jacking include installing Antivirus and updating them to the latest definitions always; keeping mobile devices up to date with the latest patches; using one’s own power bank; keeping mobile phone off when charging in public places; as well as ensuring use of one’s own charger if one must charge in public.
“On the other hand, the NCC-CSIRT Advisory 0001 of January 27, 2022, warns that Facebook for Android is vulnerable to a permission issue which gives privilege to anyone with physical access to the android device to accept friend requests without unlocking the phone. The products affected include Versions 329.0.0.29.120 of Android OS.
“With this, the attacker will be able to add the victim as a friend and collect personal information of the victim, such as Email, Date of Birth, Check-ins, Mobile phone number, Address, Pictures, and other information that the victim may have shared, which would only be visible to his/her friends,” the statement read partly.
