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Security pros predict rise in mobile payment-related breaches

But it's not as if the expectation keeps cybersecurity experts themselves from making mobile payments, a new study finds.

September 25, 2015

A survey of 900 cybersecurity experts shows that an overwhelming majority (87 percent) expect an increase in mobile payment data breaches over the next 12 months — and yet, 42 percent have used this payment method themselves this year.

The 2015 Mobile Payment Security Study from global cybersecurity association ISACA suggests that cybersecurity professionals are willing to balance benefits with perceived security risks of mobile payments, according to press release.

Highlights of the study include:

• only 23 percent of respondents believe that mobile payments are secure in keeping personal information safe;
• nearly half (47 percent) say mobile payments are not secure; and
• at 89 percent, cash was deemed the most secure payment method, but only 9 percent prefer to use it.

"Mobile payments represent the latest frontier for the choice we make to balance security and privacy risk and convenience," said John Pironti, risk advisor with ISACA and president of IP architects. "ISACA members, who are some of the most cyber-aware professionals in the world, are using mobile payments while simultaneously identifying and contemplating their potential security risks. This shows that fear of identity theft or a data breach  is not slowing down adoption — and it shouldn’t — as long as risk is properly managed and effective and appropriate security features are in place."

Survey respondents ranked major vulnerabilities associated with mobile payments:

1. use of public WiFi (26 percent);
2. lost or stolen devices (21 percent);
3. phishing and shmishing, i.e., phishing attacks via SMS text message (18 percent); and
4. weak passwords (13 percent).

Survey respondents concluded that the most effective way to make mobile payments more secure is to use two identity authentication methods  (66 percent), and to require the use of short-term authentication codes (18 percent). Less popular was the installation phone-based security apps (9 percent).

"People using mobile payments need to educate themselves so they are making informed choices," said Christos Dimitriadis PhD, international president of ISACA and group director of information security for Intralot. "You need to know your options, choose an acceptable level of risk, and put a value on your personal information."

Consumers should embrace — and educate themselves about — new services and technologies, he said.