The Week in Security
March 23, 2012 11:12 AM
Apple's Plans
Apple's latest digital wallet patents show how the company might add security to its payments. Its patents cover using an app to allow consumers to flag fraudulent transactions. (Image: Bloomberg News)
The $5 Flaw
Google is giving its Google Wallet users $5 if they were affected by a flaw that could have allowed an attacker to access their stored funds by erasing their PIN . (Image: Bloomberg News)
Hack to the Future
Thirty-seven percent of corporate data breaches last year were caused by malicious attacks , a six percentage-point increase from the prior year, according to a Ponemon Institute study. A third of these attacks were pulled off with the help of insiders. (Image: ThinkStock)
Pinned Down?
As the U.S. slowly adopts chip-card security, issuers disagree over whether the so-called Chip-and-PIN cards really need to be used with a PIN . Discover isn't mandating PIN, but it prefers it for the improved security. (Image: ThinkStock)
Mobile Mayhem
There may be more fraud if banks give mobile carriers control of mobile wallets. Fraudsters have already figured out a way to take over a mobile phone account by tricking the carrier, a tactic that may make it easier to break into a mobile wallet. (Image: ThinkStock)
False Positives
Overly aggressive fraud-screening measures may lock out fraudsters, but they also lock out too many legitimate customers by mistake. (Image: ThinkStock)
What a Kick
A digital wallet being pitched on the crowd-funding site Kickstarter has an abundance of security tools built in. It has a fingerprint reader and a magnetic-stripe card that can be erased and rewritten after each use. (Image: ThinkStock)
Beaches and Biometrics
Sun worshipers may not always carry cash, but they keep their biometric traits on them at all times. For convenience and security, a Florida-based tanning chain is accepting biometric fingerprints for payment authentication, but it doesn't take cash or checks. (Image: ThinkStock)
