We'll be honest, we have – more than once – compared a public charging station to the Holy Grail.

When we realise our phone is mere moments away from keeling over, and we spot something which will instantly revive it, it's hardly surprising we fall on it with glee.

But, according to a recent report, availing of public USB portals leaves us vulnerable to hacking or juice jacking as it's known among tech experts.

"Just by plugging your phone into a compromised power strip or charger, your device is now infected, and that compromises all your data," explained Drew Paik of security firm Authentic8.

By plugging your USB cable into a a public port, your emails, text messages, photos and contacts will be up for grabs if the port has been tampered with by hackers.

Sounds like it's time we all invested in some portable battery pack chargers, right?