Apple Pay flaw lets hackers steal money from locked iPhones
What's the story
A team of cybersecurity researchers has revealed a way to exploit a vulnerability in Apple's Tap to Pay system, enabling them to steal money from a locked iPhone. The attack was demonstrated by popular YouTube channel Veritasium and involves tricking an iPhone into thinking it's making a payment at a mass transit terminal. This exploits Apple's "Express Transit" feature, which allows payments without unlocking the device.
Exploit details
How the exploit works
The attack uses an NFC card reader to intercept communication between an iPhone and a tap-to-pay terminal during a payment. The card reader is connected to a laptop that collects payment data and sends it to a separate burner phone. This phone is then tapped on a legitimate card reader, tricking the iPhone into thinking it's making a payment at a transit terminal.
Card issue
Attack only works with Visa cards
The exploit specifically targets Visa cards linked for payments in Express Transit Mode. It doesn't work with Mastercard or American Express cards due to different security methods used by these companies. Samsung Pay on Samsung devices is also unaffected by this attack. Apple has said that the issue lies with the Visa system and is unlikely to occur in real-world scenarios.
Fraud prevention
What Visa has to say
Visa has acknowledged the issue but doesn't believe such fraud is likely to occur in real-world scenarios. The company has assured its cardholders are protected by its zero liability policy. Users can protect themselves from this exploit by simply not using a Visa card on their iPhone for transit purposes.