Week in Security

PIN Drop

The EMV chip-card standard does not require a PIN — and its security negates the need for one, Visa said in a blog post Jan. 13. The card network is pushing heavily for U.S. merchants to accept chip cards, which improve security through the use of dynamically generated data. In other countries, such cards are used with a PIN.

(Image: Bloomberg News)

Zapped

The online shoe retailer Zappos disclosed a data breach, but only partial credit-card numbers were exposed. This may be a sign that the Payment Card Industry data security standard is working to protect full account numbers — or a sign that it doesn't go far enough to protect other sensitive information.

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Passing Notes

Teenagers are doing the unthinkable: they are sharing their passwords with people they are dating, The New York Times reported Jan. 18. Some say it's a sign of trust, but others say it's the result of peer pressure. And of course, when the relationship goes bad, teens learn the hard way why passwords are supposed to be kept secret.

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Hard Lesson

A community college in San Francisco, City College, discovered that its computers had been infected by malware for over a decade, The Associated Press reported Jan. 13. The malware included keyloggers, so it could have recorded any personal or financial details that were typed on school machines.

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Code Captured

A computer programmer who worked for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York was accused of stealing software that the Treasury Department uses to track payments, Bloomberg News reported Jan. 19. The suspect, Bo Zhang, is accused of stealing the data by copying it to an external hard drive.

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Dangerous Devices

Companies that let employees use their own mobile devices and apps are increasing their risk of a data breach, PC World reported Jan. 17. One of the biggest risks is associated with using apps for remote access of sensitive systems — especially since remote access was a factor in a recent attack on point of sale systems at Subway restaurants.

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