This content was created by Robert Siciliano. This content was uploaded by Robert Siciliano. This is a YouTube video titled "Apple Pay launches but is it safe" (posted 2015-04-11). It’s a short live news/interview segment from a Beacon Hill studio in which a host interviews Robert Siciliano (McAfee online security expert) about the launch of Apple Pay. The discussion explains NFC/Touch ID/tokenization, compares Apple Pay security to traditional credit cards and the iCloud photo incident, notes limited initial rollout, and offers practical advice on using Apple Pay versus cash or cards.
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Changing the way we spend our money. Apple kicking off its new mobile payment program today. Should you sign up or is this a security risk? Robert Siciliano, McAfee online security expert, joining us live from our Beacon Hill studio this morning. Robert, good to see you.
Good morning.
All right, first briefly explain to our viewers how this new payment system works.
Sure, so Apple Pay is a part of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, and eventually it'll be working for 5S S, you know, those with the Touch ID fingerprint sensor, uh, all will be able to use Apple Pay. Essentially, it uses a technology called NFC, which is Near Field Communications, which is a chip inside the device that communicates wirelessly with the point-of-sale terminals at checkout and transfers your payment information in order for you to make a payment without actually having to give a credit card number out.
Okay, you never have to have your credit card again. You know, Apple just had the debacle with the celebrity photos being hacked on the iCloud. They're telling us, hey, trust this system, it's great, it's foolproof. Should we trust them?
You know, it is two completely different systems. The payment system's over here, the iCloud as far as the photos is over here. And yes, I feel very confident that Apple Pay, the rollout will be a secure proposition for credit cards, more so than your existing credit cards. It uses the, the Touch ID fingerprint sensor, which in and of itself is much more secure than your credit cards by themselves.
Yeah, I'm surprised that you say this, Robert, because you, you like— we always talk about cash, you think cash is a good option. Why is this— you mentioned the Touch ID, that's what makes it safer than using the credit card I have in my wallet right now?
So the credit card itself, if your card right now is taken from you, you give it to a waiter, waitress, gas station attendant, it's hacked over the internet, that data in and of itself is in plain text. Anybody can just read it and use it and give it out over the phone or online. Whereas with Touch ID and Apple Pay, that information is all encrypted, it's all scrambled. There's basically a token involved, which is a series of numbers and digits that has nothing to do with your actual credit card number. They would actually have to have your fingerprint in order to make a payment.
Even if they hack Apple's system somehow, they still would— they could still get your information that way though, is that true?
Well, right now they would actually have to get into Apple Payment Systems. To hack Apple Pay would be similar to hacking, say, a major retailer or a major bank and getting into their systems. So they would have to get that before they could get your credit card information.
All right, so then bottom line is so far this is gonna roll out today. You're recommending that people use this versus using their actual credit cards. It's a safer bet.
So there is a limited amount of people who are actually gonna be able to use this, you know, those with iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, and there's only about 220,000 actual point-of-sale systems, you know, cash registers that will take this, you know, out of, you know, millions.
Yeah.
So it's gonna take a while for the public as a whole to be able to use this technology, but I feel confident that it'll work. It'll work effectively, efficiently, and securely.
All right, and again, before I let you go, let's talk about cash. Is that still the best way if we want to be 100% safe?
You know, cash poses its own risks. You know, cash is dirty. You know, if you carry a lot of cash around, you are susceptible to other, you know, personal security issues, you know, violence. I use my credit cards, and I don't worry about using cash. Even with my credit cards, I just pay attention to my statements. You have to do that anyways. You know, cash is is, you know, dinosaur days. It's really, uh, chip and PIN, which is coming soon, but NFC and Apple Pay is the way to go.
All right, Robert Siciliano, thank you. Uh, good insight on that. We appreciate it.
Thank you.
All right, quick break. Much more ahead at 9 o'clock. Stick around.
