Should you charge your phone at the airport? Maybe not.

The airport: our gateway to travel and often a much-earned vacation.

- By JOYCE REYES-AGUILA

But once there, we are bombarded with mental load, from making sure we have our passport and ticket, to checking in on time, to going through security checks, and more. The stress of it all leaves us vulnerable. We worry we might have forgotten, dropped, or left something at home that we actually need for the trip.

But these days, it isn’t just physical things we should be concerned with. We also have to think about securing our personal data, because leaving it unprotected could lead to much worse things.

What may surprise some travelers is that stealing information is now possible even without devices leaving their owners' hands. The seemingly harmless act of using free airport charging ports can compromise data security.

Just as travelers should be wary of connecting to free WiFi options, they should equally be cautious of recharging gadgets through these available ports. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) of the United States reports that doing so could result in malware being installed into gadgets. This type of software can lead to unauthorized access to personal data or disrupt a device's operation.