Android 15 has a new “juice jacking” security feature

Hackers have gotten very creative over the years. As technology improves, so does the state of hacking. Thankfully, it seems that Google is building a new security feature into Android 15 that will prevent “juice jacking” attacks.

For those unfamiliar, juice jacking is a hacking method that involves sending data through a USB cable that you think is charging your phone. This is one of the reasons why it might not always be the best idea to use publicly available chargers or cheap cables from unknown manufacturers.

The data sent through juice jacking attacks could contain all sorts of things. It might contain malware that could take over your phone. However, like we said, Android 15 introduces a new security measure that should prevent juice jacking attacks. This new feature comes in the form of “Lockdown”.

When users press and hold the power button on their phones, the new Lockdown button should appear alongside power off, restart, and emergency options. If users select Lockdown, Android 15 will immediately disable USB data access to your phone. This effectively cuts off the stream of data being sent over the USB cable onto your device.

While being targeted by juice jacking attacks isn’t as common, it’s always good to have some form of protection.