Researchers based in the UK have found loopholes in Apple’s payment system. It has been reported that payments of large sums can be made using iPhones even when locked. Such a hack can be done when a Visa card has been set up in Apple Pay’s Express Transit feature.
The ‘Express Transit’ feature is part of Apple’s payment system which allows users to tap and pay at ticket barriers. It does not require the user to authenticate the payment using FaceID or TouchID or passcode. It is supposed to make it easier and faster for users to be able to pay for their ticket and travel hasslefree without having to worry about physical cash or any authentication.
Cannot not be implemented in the real world, says Visa
“We take any threat to users’ security very seriously,” said Apple, according to the BBC.. “This is a concern with a Visa system but Visa does not believe this kind of fraud is likely to take place in the real world given the multiple layers of security in place. In the unlikely event that an unauthorized payment does occur, Visa has made it clear that their cardholders are protected by Visa’s zero liability policy.”
According to the researchers, this new Apple Pay hack will allow stolen iPhones to be used to extract money. The tap and pay feature could be used against the actual purpose it was built for – to be simple and easy to use. However, Visa has said that the hack cannot not be implemented in the real world but only possible in a lab.
“Visa cards connected to Apple Pay Express Transit are secure, and cardholders should continue to use them with confidence,” said a Visa spokesperson. “Variations of contactless fraud schemes have been studied in laboratory settings for more than a decade and have proven to be impractical to execute at scale in the real world.”
