The Privacy Problems of No Swipe Cards

Posted by Peter Brady on Wed 8th November 2006 at 06:00 AM, Filed in US Credit Cards

The New York Times reports on the privacy pitfalls of no swipe credit cards. Oh boy isn’t that a worry!

According to the article researchers Tom Heydt Benjamin and Kevin Fu were able to easily retrieve data from the new cards - data without encryption and in plain text.

“They could skim and store the information from a card with a device the size of a couple of paperback books, which they cobbled together from readily available computer and radio components for $150. They say they could probably make another one even smaller and cheaper: about the size of a pack of gum for less than $50. And because the cards can be read even through a wallet or an item of clothing, the security of the information, the researchers say, is startlingly weak. Would you be comfortable wearing your name, your credit card number and your card expiration date on your T-shirt?’ Mr. Heydt-Benjamin, a graduate student, asked.”

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