What is an airport charging station?
Airport charging stations are placed at nearly all terminals at the airport to offer a quick charge for travelers' devices that are low on battery. They usually have many outlets and/or USB ports to charge devices. Mostly all of them are free to use. However, travelers should consider all the risks there are to USB charging.
Why are public USB charging ports dangerous?
According to an IBM report in 2019, the transportation industry emerges as the second most attacked sector in 2018. Due to the digital age, cybercriminals' interest in this industry will only grow.
Traditionally, cables were used to transfer data from one device to another, however, as wireless charging is starting to grow in popularity; many people are forgetting that cables are used for transferring data. Cybercriminals take advantage of this and can manipulate public USB ports to use them to access your device's data.
Another way cybercriminals can get a hold of traveler's data is by leaving behind USB cables. These cables include mini-computers and malware that hide inside of the USB cable itself. Cables such as the O.MG Cable, can give these cybercriminals private information such as username and passwords. The LA County District Attorney released an article advising travelers to avoid using USB powered charging stations as much as possible.
How can traveler's charge their devices instead?
There are many alternatives to charging your devices. These methods below can guarantee that your data is safe and secure.
Charge via a wall charger
A good way to guarantee that you are safe from data hacking is by using a wall charger and charging from an outlet. The pros of getting a wall charger is that they're cheap and they charge faster than traditional non fast charging power banks. The only small con is just another small part that you would have to carry around on your carry on.
Charge via a power bank
Another safe way to charge your phone is to charge via a power bank. There are many different types of power banks that range from fast charging to huge capacities that could charge your phone 5 times without you needing to recharge the power bank. If you're in need of a power bank for travel, check out our Portable Power Bank.
Charging via a power bank is great and there are many luggage from our carry-on collection that support power bank charging. Our carry-on has a special compartment, that allows you to place your portable devices into. From there you can connect the power bank to the luggage and use the external USB port to charge your luggage. This allows your device to charge while freeing your hands of carrying your portable charger.
