Are Physical Attacks On POS PIN Pads On The Rise? Using Distance As A Defense
Written by Evan SchumanApril 21st, 2010
One of the oldest tenets in security is that professional thieves will always attack the perceived weak point of security. This reality is why we're seeing a sharp increase in reported thefts of PIN pad units.
Substantial efforts in recent years to protect the data within a split second of a card being swiped have done little beyond making PIN pads the victim of physical attacks. Units are replaced either with a skimmer attached or by a clone of the full device.
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Our Comment SPAM system is getting very aggressive these days and has been blocking legitimate comments. If you post a comment and don't see it appear within 2 hours or so, can you please send a heads-up to customer-service@storefrontbacktalk.com? Ideally, please include the time you posted the comment. That will allow us to try and hunt for it. Thanks! P.S. We're working on fixing the system, but we don't want to lose any valuable comments in the meantime.
I have strong reservations about the 'individual' certification and posting of that information for merchants. Can you imagine the potential employee poaching that might occur? The implications when competitors can look up how many are certified with each of their competitors? 
-Christine
