Data security

Gary McAlum, USAA's top security executive, discusses what he sees as a false choice between security and convenience, his company's progress in getting users to adopt biometric authentication, and the need for a holistic approach to security.

The Electronic Transactions Association released its updated Guidelines on Merchant and ISO Underwriting and Risk Monitoring last week, spotlighting various merchant categories that face the biggest scrutiny from law enforcement agencies.

It has been difficult for the card brands' 3D Secure technology to find a following in the U.S., in part because of a lack of awareness, and in part because of the consumer friction the authentication process has caused in the past.

Much of the growth in wearable technology is happening without an eye to enabling payments. This is prompting many companies to find a way to add payment capabilities to wearables without forcing users to buy an entirely new device.

By now, many merchants should be wondering if they made the right decision by failing to act before last fall’s EMV liability shift.

A cybercrime ring that reportedly stole $1 billion from banks around the world last year is back, using different tactics. For one thing, it's more often going after banks' corporate customers, making its activities harder for banks to detect.

The cloud and Internet of Things may excite the payments and technology industries, but they are a source of mounting pressure for in-house data security professionals.

Hardware security modules have long been a staple in payments network security, but increasing transaction flow and coding in the mobile and digital age can create data bottlenecks with current technology.

Since payment fraud involves many different types of activity the best way to identify suspicious patterns is to integrate disparate data sources, and cross check data from multiple angles.

Some say the U.S. payments infrastructure is a prime target for government-sponsored cybercriminals. But the aged and fragmented nature of our infrastructure could, for once, work in its favor.