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VeriFone takes a shot at Square over security concerns
Jason Cipriani
VeriFone’s CEO has released a video describing his security concerns with Square’s mobile card readers
VeriFone released a video detailing Square reader security issues, allowing consumers credit card information to easily be stolen
Published on Mar 9, 2011
Square is a recent upstart who is making great strides in the mobile payment industry. Last week Square CEO, Jack Dorsey, announced the company is processing over one million dollars a day in transactions. With such success, competitors are sure to take notice.
VeriFone is one of those competitors, and it has set its crosshairs directly on Square. Releasing a video detailing a “serious security flaw that Square has overlooked that places consumers in dire risk,” as reported on Engadget.
The issue is pretty straight forward, the Square readers do not encrypt the credit card information once a card has been scanned before it sends the info to the Square app. This vulnerability allows any programer with the knowhow to create an application that can then read the credit card information and store it.
VeriFone is so intent on proving this, it has created a site www.sq-skim.com and released a sample application (oddly enough, we don’t see the download link) to demonstrate how easy it is to turn the Square reader into a mobile skimmer. VeriFone has also sent the information and sample app to all of the major credit card companies and has gone as far as demanding Square readers be immediately recalled and removed from the market.
A pretty gutsy move by VeriFone. We will keep an eye on Square for its response. This likely isn’t the end of this story.
Watch the video below to hear VeriFone’s concerns straight from its CEO.
