My bank account got frozen this morning because of TARGET!!!

[Divernan]

65. "U.S. laggard in adopting more secure credit cards"; ALL credit cards issued in U.S. hackable.

Last edited Sun Dec 22, 2013, 12:33 AM - Edit history (1)

As this detailed article from the L.A. Times explains, it's not just Target - the U.S. lags behind the rest of the developed world (80 countries) in converting cards from embedding information on magnetic strips to the "smart card" technology involving microchips. Credit card issuers in Europe and Asia made this conversion A FRIGGIN'DECADE AGO. Less than one percent of all cards issued in the US have the smart card microchips. Americans traveling abroad are increasingly running into problems using the old-style, magnetic strip cards and are being advised to request a microchip smart card when they travel abroad. Apparently, according to the article, banks and credit card companies have the capacity to provide a smart credit card for foreign travel upon request.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-1221-credit-card-technology-20131221,0,7876975.story#ixzz2oAiHYMNq


U.S. a laggard in adopting more secure credit cards

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-1221-credit-card-technology-20131221,0,7876975.story#ixzz2oAfB5tcN

Over the last decade, most countries have moved toward using credit cards that carry information on embeddable microchips rather than magnetic strips. The additional encryption on so-called smart cards has made the kind of brazen data thefts suffered by Target almost impossible to pull off in most other countries.

Because the U.S. is one of the few places yet to widely deploy such technology, the nation has increasingly become the focus of hackers seeking to steal such information. The stolen data can easily be turned into phony credit cards that are sold on black markets around the world.

"The U.S. is one of the last markets to convert from the magnetic stripe," Randy Vanderhoof, director of the EMV Migration Forum. "There's fewer places in the world where that stolen data could be used. So the U.S. becomes more of a high-value target."

EMV stands for Europay, MasterCard and Visa and is the technology standard that involves placing an integrated circuit of some kind into a credit card. Most European and Asian countries began adopting the technology a decade ago, pushed by regulators in those countries. About 80 countries use smart credit cards, which allow for greater encryption and security. By comparison, only about 1% of credit cards issued in the U.S. contain such technology.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-1221-credit-card-technology-20131221,0,7876975.story#ixzz2oAfj4Nvs

Apparently the usurious late fees, credit rates, penalties, etc., these companies have charged for the past ten years has not provided enough profit for these card issuers to allow them to catch up with the rest of the civilized world. Cue the dolts/trolls/idiots chanting: USA! USA! We're Number One!"