Hey there, tech lovers! Nuked here, ready to share some eye-opening news about your favorite gadgets.

For years, Apple and Google have worked to thwart a sneaky attack called “juice jacking,” which involves malicious chargers stealing data as you power up. However, recent research reveals that these defenses have a big flaw that’s surprisingly easy to exploit.

Juice jacking started gaining attention around 2011. It works by embedding hardware into chargers that secretly access your phone’s files while charging, especially in places like airports or malls. The idea was to prevent such breaches by requiring user approval before data transfer, based on the USB protocol’s rules about host and peripheral roles.

But researchers from Austria uncovered a shocking weakness. They designed something called ChoiceJacking—a method that allows malicious chargers to essentially trick your phone into granting access without your consent. They found that by acting as both a keyboard and a host, these chargers can simulate user actions and hijack your device’s data transfer prompts.

One attack involves the charger using USB Power Delivery to switch roles and send fake keystrokes that approve data access, all in a matter of seconds. It’s like having a sneaky digital puppeteer controlling your phone’s permissions behind the scenes. This attack can extract photos, documents, and even apps, on many popular devices from top brands.

In response, Apple rolled out a security update in iOS/iPadOS 18.4 requiring users to authenticate with a PIN or Face ID before granting access via USB. Google has also made progress with Android 15, but many devices—especially from manufacturers like Samsung—still remain vulnerable due to delayed updates or incomplete implementation of these protections.

What’s even more unsettling is that these attacks most threaten devices with USB debugging enabled, a setting some users activate for troubleshooting or custom modifications. This can give hackers full control over the device if exploited.

So, in our tech adventures, always be cautious about charging your phone at public stations. Despite the hype, there haven’t been confirmed incidents of juice jacking in the wild, but it’s a good reminder to stay vigilant in our connected world.