Tag: mobile payments security

Firm raises funds to support global expansion

Citrus Payments, a payment technology firm based in India, has announced that it has raised $5.5 million in funding from its group of investors. The funding comes at an ideal time when mobile payments are becoming more popular among consumers throughout India. Smartphones and tablets are becoming more common among consumers and these devices are exposing many to the concept of mobile commerce. Consumers are showing strong interest in mobile commerce because of the convenience that it represents.

US and European markets prove attractive

Citrus Payments intends to use its new funding to further expand its presence around the world. The firm has produced some popular mobile payments services in the past that have been used by large companies in Asia and elsewhere. The firm expects to find significant success in markets beyond Asia as mobile commerce continues to grow in popularity around the world. Notably, demand for new payment technologies has been on the rise in Europe and the U.S., where mobile device ownership is quite high.

Competition is fierce in the mobile commerce field

Mobile commerce is a competitive field, so Citrus Payments may have a lot of fighting to do before it can establish a strong foothold in new markets. Large companies, such as Square, Google, and PayPal, already boast of a dominating presence in popular markets. A multitude of startups are also vying for the attention of consumers around the world, making it difficult for any single company to stand out, regardless of how much backing it may have from investors.

Security may be a major challenge

Companies that aim to do well in mobile commerce have numerous challenges that they must overcome. Many consumers cite security as the main reason they are not interested in the concept of mobile payments. Addressing this specific issue has been quite problematic, given the nature of technology and security. Citrus Payments has shown that it can overcome some of the challenges it has experienced in the past, but new challenges are emerging at a rapid pace that may test the firm’s flexibility and ability to adapt.

A hidden antenna was used by researchers to test the ease of sensitive customer data theft.

A paper was recently published, entitled “Eavesdropping near field contactless payments: a quantitative analysis”, which detailed a study in which researchers examined mobile safety attacks through NFC technology security meant for contactless payments transactions.

The researchers made an antenna that they hid on shopping carts using low cost electronics.

Their explanation for this effort was to test NFC technology security with a near field communication inductive loop antenna, which was employed for mimicking an ISO 14443 transmission. Then, in order to be able to actually “eavesdrop”, there was a second, identical inductive loop antenna that was installed onto a shopping cart, which they modified in order to transmit in a way that was like an antenna.

Even though NFC technology security has been touted as safe, researchers found the opposite.

The researchers in this study found that although near field communication based contactless payments are becoming increasingly popular in the United Kingdom and Europe, and that consumers are trusting this tech as safe, these transactions are actually more vulnerable than had previously been thought.

The belief that there could be problems is not new as some had already been pointing out certain vulnerabilities – three, in fact – as early as 2008. Since that time, hacking into near field communications transmissions for payments and directly relaying, skimming, or eavesdropping on sensitive data transmissions from customers has been in the spotlight.

Until now, services had not known how to make this tech both simple and reliable. This is how these transactions are now often viewed. However, these researchers, who are from the University of Surrey, have now looked further into the safety of the tech through the use of cheap and easily accessible electronics from stores. They were able to measure the distance, success rates, and a number of other factors.

What they showed, was that NFC technology security isn’t as high as some might think. They determined that if an attacker with the same equipment was to head out and “shop” for a consumer’s payments data, it would not be difficult for a cyber attack to occur through the use of these electronics, while pointing a shopping cart at the victim as he or she pays for the purchase.