- Jan 8, 2011
- 22,361
Chinese researchers from Tencent Security Labs have found an exploit that lets them change the firmware on fast chargers and cause physical damage to anything that's plugged into them.
When I say physical damage, I mean real and dangerous damage, like components popping and burning, which could lead to a very serious problem since these circuits are also connected to the battery. This is something everyone needs to know about and take precautions against until manufacturers fix the problem.
Tencent doesn't name the manufacturers that have built vulnerable equipment, but it's a safe bet to assume that some of us are using them. That means everyone needs to do one simple thing — never let anyone use your charger.