9 replies to this topic

[Powermaniac7]

Hi all,

Recently I was watching an article on the a current affairs in Australia here and they were talking about the fact there's a chip in your phone that is the same as the one you have on your credit cards. This chip will be used to have your phone as the credit card instead giving you the ability to use your phone with particular Eftpos machines at stores.

The problem I see with it is people have the ability to steal your credit card information by making card readers which they hide over ATM machines. This in a way makes it easier for black hat hackers in that they maybe able to intercept the signal from your phone to the eftpos machine and then decrypt it giving them your card details.

But it maybe even easier then intercepting the message from the phone to the eftpos machine with the amount people are now using the internet on there phones along with trusting anything that is in the Google market place etc. Giving an easy doorway into your phone and your details.

Things are becoming easier to do with technology so we only have to have one item on us but its opening up an easy way to steal all of your information.

Anyway thoughts on this?

Powermaniac

Edited by Powermaniac7, 17 November 2011 - 02:15 AM.

[Afterm4th]

I've never heard of this. Do you have a make/model of phone that this applies to?

Sounds like google wallet, but not google wallet.

[nyphonejacks]

I've never heard of this. Do you have a make/model of phone that this applies to?

Sounds like google wallet, but not google wallet.

new tech coming out http://en.wikipedia....d_communication
there are a list of NFC equipped phones on the link

[Powermaniac7]

I believe nyphonejacks linked you to the chip I was thinking of. It was also recently on Popular Science.

Although I don't remember that many phones having it, I'm sure it was only particular phones Google has made and released, that is why it came up in Popular Science the fact that it may actually be used now for something such as acting as your credit card.

So no one else can see the risk smart-phones pose to civilians.

Recently it was either the CIA or FBI that had someone working for them state that they are working/wanting to make a separate internet and smart-phones that are not hackable. So people military personnel don't have to carry around there ridiculously large phones that are connected to secure phone lines. This was because of the fact some people were still using ordinary phones for conversations that are classified because they didn't like the ridiculously large phones and keep there new smart-phones on them more often.

Just some stuff I thought you might find interesting if you didn't already know about it. I read a lot of technology and science based articles on multiple sites especially if they have an app.

[nyphonejacks]

NPR was talking about the NFC chips recently about how companies like google are trying to replace credit card companies with this new form of paying for things...

[jfalcon]

From how I understand NFC working with such apps like Google Wallet you have a NFC proximity chip which talks to the phone app. The phone app needs to be running (and presumably a pin entered) to decrypt the card data and send it to the NFC chip.

Now the part I'm not sure is the handshake between the Point of Sale and the phone with the NFC chip. One would think there is a SSL or public key handshake that establishes a secure connection to the phone which is then screened prior to you hitting "send money" on your phone.

[nyphonejacks]

From how I understand NFC working with such apps like Google Wallet you have a NFC proximity chip which talks to the phone app. The phone app needs to be running (and presumably a pin entered) to decrypt the card data and send it to the NFC chip.

Now the part I'm not sure is the handshake between the Point of Sale and the phone with the NFC chip. One would think there is a SSL or public key handshake that establishes a secure connection to the phone which is then screened prior to you hitting "send money" on your phone.

i hope that there is some sort of security features built into this since RFID and bluetooth have proven to not be very secure - would kind of defeat the whole purpose of a cell phone if you had to put it into an RF shielded case to protect people from obtaining unauthorized access to your funds thru this technology...

[Powermaniac7]

The companies making these chips that are supposedly secure never seem to realise that the people who would try to hack into said device are not stupid.

Soon end up in a world so highly advanced in technology, where we shall have people who are millionaires thanks to them hacking into systems and taking money, information, redirecting objects to them. Could be very interesting the list of powerful people in the world could suddenly change into being all the smart computer nerds.

So much of the public is oblivious to the fact they are at a constant risk of being hacked over the net and multiple other ways.

Something for us to keep in mind when these chips become popular and to stick to credit cards as overall in some ways it is just safer.

[Afterm4th]

Something for us to keep in mind when these chips become popular and to stick to credit cards as overall in some ways it is just safer.

How about sticking to cash? Or even better, Gold and silver.

[nyphonejacks]

Something for us to keep in mind when these chips become popular and to stick to credit cards as overall in some ways it is just safer.

How about sticking to cash? Or even better, Gold and silver.

i try to stick to cash when ever possible.. but occasionally have to resort to my RFID embedded debit card....