A phone, for example, can warn you if you're trying to use a substandard/non-authenticated cable before it even starts sipping electricity to charge its battery. Computers can also detect if a USB Type-C drive is encrypted before they read its contents. Hardware manufacturers could either ship their devices with the authentication system in place or roll it out as an update later. Either way, this new protocol coupled with Amazon's decision to ban the sale of low-quality Type-C cables, could help save you from losing an expensive gadget.