Can Apple Pay Be Hacked?

The new Apple Pay sounds very cool. It even has my attention because I like trying new technologies plus I have been trying out the new iPhone plus. However, my question is are there any potential security risks that the public should be aware of before taking the plunge and fully using Apple Pay for all their basic needs? “While Apple Pay has yet to be put to a real-world test, some security experts--despite generally praising Apple's move as a step in the right direction--have already identified some potential risks inherent in the system” (Thompson, 2014). This might be concerning to some people in the population. It definitely concerns me. Moreover, "If correctly implemented it could add security benefits, but there could also be some gaping security flaws” (Thompson, 2014).

Some important considerations for security with Apple Pay include using Tokenization instead of storing user financial data. The actual credit card number is not stored instead another account number is generated to each specific Apple device that is stored on an encrypted chip in the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. (Thompson, 2014) This makes the Apple Pay option sound fairly secure. There are many considerations to consider but at this point it is too soon to determine if Apple Pay will have considerable weaknesses or not. I look forward to finding out more about this matter in the near future. I wouldn’t mind seeing what those vulnerabilities are, if they do end up existing.

References

Thompson, C. (2014, September 11). How hackers could still get around Apple Pay security . Retrieved from CNBC: http://www.cnbc.com/id/101992749#.