As Apple announced its “wallet killer” service, Apple Pay, on Tuesday, many people are raising questions about its security. After all, it’s only natural of people to question any new service promising to let users pay with their phone. After all the stories of banks getting hacked, celebrities’ nude photos stolen on a large scale, millions of credit card numbers stolen from chain stores, and so on, it would be surprising if the public was not weary of Apple Pay.
Apple, however presents the service as exactly the kind of thing that will protect the consumer and the company data even better. While the company didn’t release many details on the service, the basic idea is this: you can load your credit card information into your phone with which you can then pay by tapping at stores equipped with the checkout device, without either Apple or the cashier knowing your credit card information. Apparently, each time, the system will use a different one-time-use account number an a security code.
Only time and real-life scenarios can prove just how safe this service will be in the long run. Apple seems to show a lot of confidence in their new product. Some are skeptical. After the recent iCloud hack, some users are nervous about the entire idea. Another worrying fact is that the list of Apple partners that the Pay service will be compatible with includes a number of recently hacked companies:
- Target. Less than a year ago, 70 million users’ data compromised, including 40 million customers’ credit card numbers.
- Staples. Apparently Staples was a victim of a malware breach in 2013, although officials remained rather quiet about the whole matter.
- McDonald’s. In 2010, an unknown number of customers’ information was stolen. These were mainly customers who signed up for the promotional offers.
- Disney. In 2007, a subcontractor was caught selling stolen credit card number, among other things, to FBI undercover agents.
You can find information on Apple Pay at their website here.
