juice jacking

Online slang for the invasion of your personal device while you're simply charging your battery. 

Juice jacking refers to a cyber attack where malware is installed, or data is copied from, a smartphone, tablet or other computer device using a charging port that doubles as a data connection, typically over USB.

Historical perspective: Should you avoid public phone chargers? According to How-To Geek, regardless of the kind of modern smartphone you have–be it an Android device, iPhone, or BlackBerry–there is one common feature across all phones: the power supply and the data stream pass over the same cable. Whether you’re using a USB "miniB" connection or Apple’s proprietary cables, it’s the same situation: The cable used to recharge the battery in your phone is the same cable you use to transfer and sync your data.

This setup, data/power on the same cable, offers an approach for a malicious user to gain access to your phone during the charging process. The attack could be as simple as an invasion of privacy, wherein your phone pairs with a computer concealed within the charging kiosk and information like private photos and contact information are transferred to the malicious device. Or, the attack could be as invasive as an injection of malicious code directly into your device.

As of 2018, juice jacking was largely considered a theoretical threat, but as of 2025, the chances that the USB charging ports in the kiosk at your local airport are actually a secret front for a data siphoning and malware-injecting computer have increased dramatically. Most geeks know this very real security risk and DO NOT plug their smartphones or tablets into an unknown device.