Tag: mobile security

UnionPay mobile payments have arrived in North America

The Chinese smartphone transaction system is launching in the western continent with a start in Canada.

China’s UnionPay mobile payments system is now in North America. It took its first steps into the continent by launching in Canada. This mobile transaction service is the international subsidiary of the Chinese interbank network. The network functions to link the credit and debit card payments throughout that country’s banks.

UnionPay International is enormous, placing third in the world as a payment network.

Only Visa and MasterCard are larger payment networks than UnionPay. This is primarily because of its reach throughout China and its recent rapid expansion outside the country. Now that UnionPay mobile payments launched in Canada, its QuickPass system will be available to many Canadian merchants. It will be focused on “daily spending” merchants in that country. This represents the first time the system has entered North America, despite its wide expansion elsewhere.

UnionPay mobile payments can be used with QuickPass enabled smartphones or EMV chip cards.

UnionPay Mobile Payments Headed to North America - North America on GlobeThere is a QuickPass spending cap at $100 (CAD) for transactions without a PIN or signature when using either credit or debit. This is meant to enhance the system’s mobile security. Moreover, it will make it fast and easy for Canadian consumers to use the system without having to enter a PIN.

As of yet, it is not known precisely how many Canadian merchants are interested in these mobile payments. The number of companies participating in QuickPass was not revealed at the launch. However, UnionPay has said that there will at least be more than 70,000 merchants with the required tech. It also pointed out that the infrastructure in the country is well suited to accept contactless payments.

Therefore, there is potential that a sizeable percentage of those with the ability to accept contactless payments will participate.

At the moment, the North American launch of UnionPay mobile payments is exclusive to Canada. However, there is a very large potential audience in the rest of the continent. This may mean that the company is setting up to subtly become a direct competitor with certain leading mobile wallets such as Apple Pay.

Android mobile security vulnerability exposes nearly a billion devices

Approximately 900 million gadgets have been exposed and the fix will be a tough one.

The latest Android mobile security problem to have been identified is a big one. This vulnerability isn’t specific to any particular make, model or version of firmware. This is because it doesn’t actually have to do with the operating system. Instead, it’s an issue based at Qualcomm, the hardware manufacturer component provider.

At the moment, there are about 900 million Android smartphones with the vulnerable Qualcomm components.

What makes this Android mobile security problem worse is that it will be quite the challenge to fix. This, according to the Check Point security research firm.. There are actually four issues that make up the vulnerability. Together, these four issues are called QuadRooter. They impact Qualcomm chipsets from a number of different manufacturers. Manufacturers include Google, LG, HTC, OnePlus and others. The Google devices include the various manufacturers that make the Nexus smartphones and tablets.

Unfortunately, this Android mobile security vulnerability is a very serious one.

Android Mobile Security - Exposure and VulnerabilityCompromised devices are open to a spectrum of different types of vulnerabilities. Primarily, it could provide unauthorized root access. This means cyber criminals could obtain any information stored on the device. The vulnerability also lets criminals take control of a phone’s camera and microphone and can track the device’s GPS location. Essentially, it is providing someone not only with the keys to your house, but also all your passwords and a means to carry all your belongings away.

Vulnerabilities in mobile security are not rare. All operating systems have experienced them. That said, when iOS vulnerabilities occur, Apple can typically address the problem very quickly because they are in control of both the software and hardware of their devices. However, the same cannot be said about Android.

According to Check Point mobile research team member, Jeff Zacuto, “Android security updates are really hard.” “The Android ecosystem is so fragmented. There are a lot of different versions and variants of Android in the marketplace, because each individual device has its own particular nuances,” he said.

This problem with Android mobile security isn’t anything recent. In fact only 15 percent of devices on this operating system are operating on its newest version, which means the rest are not operating with the latest protection features.