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U.K. researchers demo chip, PIN hack

January 10, 2007

CSO:Researchers at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom have demonstrated how a chip-and-PIN terminal, used to authenticate credit and debit card transactions, can be compromised. "We demonstrated that with the new hardware, everything is under our control - the card reader, the LCD display and the keypad," said Saar Drimer, one of the researchers involved in the demonstration. Creating fake terminals does not require more than a "moderate" technical competency, Drimer said. Sandra Quinn, a spokeswoman for APACS, the Association for Payment Clearing Services, said the demonstration highlights a hypothetical situation - not one that is easily replicated in a retail environment. Read more