Researchers See Privacy Pitfalls in No-Swipe Credit Cards - New York Times

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American Express has said its cards incorporate “128-bit encryption,” and J. P. Morgan Chase has said that its cards, which it calls Blink, use “the highest level of encryption allowed by the U.S. government.” But in tests on 20 cards from Visa, MasterCard and American Express, the researchers here found that the cardholder’s name and other data was being transmitted 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.

• Web Address: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/23/business/23card.html?ei=5090&en=76401b1601fc06e3&ex=1319256000&adxnnl=1&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&adxnnlx=1161882537-SwfLDiLkHEMYgEI2Khx2vA
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• Tags: privacy, technology, piracy, identity, theft, jpmorgan, chase, amex, american, express, creditcards, fraud, research
• Saved by jeffrey zeldman on October 26, 2006.
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