CYBER security experts say mobile payment technology is developing unchecked and it is time governments stepped in to ensure the system is safe for consumers to use.
Adjunct professor of computer science at QUT, Bill Caelli, said big business was sacrificing security for convenience. Editor's Sarcastic Note: OMG! When did they start doing that? "We have an explosion of these types of products coming out which are based on providing payments and services on the smartphone," he said. "It's happening in a totally unregulated, laissez-faire, free-market environment. "The finance industry and industries like the airlines are trying to see how they can use mobiles to minimize costs." Prof Caelli described developments such as the Google Wallet and Visa's Virtual Wallets, contactless credit or debit cards using near-field communication and even boarding passes on smartphones as frightening, because consumers had little understanding of how they worked. "I have no idea whether or not the Google Wallet can be trusted or not and I have been in the game for 35 years," Prof Caelli said. read more
