Author :
Nicole
Bogart
Date :
April 24, 2013
Extract :
« RFID chip technology
is used in many credit cards, most commonly used for tap-to-pay
systems like MasterCard’s PayPass or Visa payWave.
The technology
stores information including the card number, the cardholder’s name
and the expiry date. It does not include the three digit security
number on the back of the card – usually used when a larger
purchase is being made on the card.
Major credit card
companies have stated that RFID technology is safe, however the
technology is not encrypted – unlike the chip on the front of the
card that physically plugs in to debit or credit machines.
[...]
“The units that
you tap your card on are set on very low ranges, so you only have to
get within a few inches of the device for it to read your card. But
there is nothing inherent in the technology that says it has to be
within three to four inches – if you turn the power up you can push
it out to 10 or 15 feet,” said David Skillicorn, professor at the
school of computing at Queens University.
“That’s where
the trouble starts – because now you don’t have to be very close
to the credit card or the passport in order to read the information
on it.”
The CBC
investigation into the application revealed that credit card
information could be read through wallets, pockets and purses using
the phones near field communication (NFC) antenna.
Theoretically, this
means that someone using the app could gain access to your credit
card information by just standing near you. »
Index
terms :
Thefts, credit cards, NFC, RFID.
Found
with Netvibes. RSS Feeds of « NPR »
Site :
http://globalnews.ca/
CS.
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