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Privacy Alert – Phone Charging Kiosks
At ChargeDefense, we continue to get looks of astonishment and
outright fear when we explain the dangers of charging mobile
devices through USB connections. Most people do not realize
that when you plug your phone into a USB connection, the first
thing that happens is an attempt by the device to synchronize with
whatever it is plugged in to. Cyber criminals quickly recognized
that this was an opportunity to exploit and use it to conduct identity
theft and install malware on unsuspecting victims.
But, it’s not just criminals that use USB connectivity to collect
information from your mobile devices. Just like merchants and
search engines install cookies on your computer to detect
purchasing patterns and use that information to personalize
targeted advertising just for you, your mobile devices can be used
for the exact same thing. Your browsing history and purchasing
patterns are valuable and that information can be collected and
sold for profit. Your privacy is constantly in jeopardy.
One of the surprising tools used for collecting your personal
information are public charging kiosks. We redacted an actual kiosk privacy policy agreement (you
can’t make this stuff up) to show you the true dangers of unprotected mobile device charging.
Information They Collect
When you connect to a public charging
station such as the one in this example,
you are effectively waiving your privacy
rights. Their agreement terms (the fine
print) states that it we ask for “personal and
non-personal information” such as “name,
address, phone number, credit card
information, birthday, Facebook and/or
Twitter usernames, and information
regarding your cell phone and/or other
mobile device.”
The “agreement” goes on to state, “the
Kiosk
and records information on our server logs
from your browser or mobile platform”.
What are they automatically collecting?
54 Cyber Warnings E-Magazine – February 2015 Edition
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