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Displaying items by tag: PIN

MS-Myth

When I purchased my first Android based phone there was an option for a “connect the dots” style security measure. This consisted of a screen with nine dots which you had to connect in the right order to unlock the phone. It was a pretty neat idea until you consider how simple it is to see your pattern on the screen of the phone. Unless you keep your phone obsessively clean you will leave evidence of your unlock pattern right on the device making it easier for someone to unlock it. Google was quick to realize this and came out alternatives to this method which included passwords, PINs, and even facial unlock (which was a joke).

Published in News
Thursday, 25 October 2012 19:56

PIN thievery at Barnes and Noble POS terminals

barnesandnoble

63 largest U.S. Barnes & Noble bookstores are affected by serious safety problems. Criminals compromised Barnes & Noble POS (Point of Sale) devices and took data from credit and debit cards complete with PIN numbers for those debit cards. In each of the affected stores was found one compromised POS device. Barnes and Noble have more than 700 stores across the U.S. and more than 600 stores for students and professors so this problem is very serious.

Published in News

News_manstealingdataOk this one goes in the books for being really foolish of Google. Remember how we told you that cutting corners in the coding of Google Wallet allowed a crafty hacker to read the binary data and get your PIN? Well today there is even worse news about the mobile payment application. The new flaw is almost a basic flaw in the OS as well as an application flaw. What’s worse is that this is so simple it does not even count as a hack… and you do not have to have a rooted phone to pull this off.

Published in News