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When it comes to thinking about charging cables, many people simply don’t. As long as a cable does its job and powers up your device, the assumption is that it is acceptable and safe to use it. After all, what could go wrong while you are charging your phone? And the answer is: A LOT — if you are using this scary charging cable that you need to have on your radar and stay far, far away from. Digital Privacy Expert Hannah Hart at ProPrivacy shares with SHEFinds.com the reason why you should never plug your iPhone into this charging cable.
OMG Cable
It’s new on the market, was developed by MG, a security researcher, and looks and feels just like an iPhone Lightning cable. But that’s where the similarities end, Hart says, because the OMG Cable is bad news for your iPhone and your personal security.
“It’s indistinguishable from a regular USB-C to Lightning cord – the only difference is that it’ll record all your keystrokes,” Hart says. “These OMG Cables can be used to collect passwords and sensitive data without the user even knowing, thanks to a tiny implant inside the cable itself that creates a Wi-Fi hotspot.”
That news is terrifying enough, but there’s more to know about the dangers of relying on the OMG Cable.
“The hacker in question then connects to the hotspot and boots up an interface in a web browser, and can sit back and watch all the keystrokes come through,” Hart says. “There's even a Keylogger Edition of the OMG Cable that can store 650,000 keystrokes and determine whether input is coming from a detachable keyboard.”
One of the most worrying aspects of this “insidious cable” is the fact that the hacker could be more than a mile away and still receive data, Hart shares. “The cable's geofencing feature also allows these hackers to trigger payloads, or block them, depending on the device's physical location,” Hart says. “iPhone users will need to be especially wary of which cables they're using and whether they're legitimate Apple products – especially with the iPhone 13 about to hit the shelves! Only use charging cables that you know are safe and avoid purchasing cables from unknown, unverified sources.”
The bottom line: always choose Apple-certified cables and avoid anything that Apple itself doesn't approve for using on your iPhone.
