Image: Salvador Mendoza/YouTube
Posted on 08/06/2016 10:21:39 PM PDT by Swordmaker
A security researcher has discovered limitations in Samsung Pay's security, which, if exploited by an attacker, could be used in another phone to allow someone else to fraudulently make payments.
The magnetic-based contactless payment system, which comes standard in many newer Samsung phones, works by translating credit card data into tokens so that a hacker can't grab credit card numbers from the device.
But those tokens aren't as secure as one might hope.
Salvador Mendoza found that the tokenization process is limited and the sequencing of the tokens can be predicted. In an email prior to his Black Hat talk in Las Vegas on August 4, he explained that the tokenization process gets weaker after the app generates the first token from a specific card, meaning that there's a greater chance that future tokens could be predicted.
Those tokens can be stolen and used in other hardware to make fraudulent transactions -- effectively a new form of card skimming -- without restrictions.
He said that an attacker could steal a token from a Samsung Pay device and use it without restrictions.
Mendoza said he sent a token to one of his friends in Mexico, and he could use it with magnetic spoofing hardware to buy something -- even when Samsung Pay is not yet available in Mexico.
He demonstrated in a YouTube video (in Spanish but with English subtitles).
The big question is: how do you steal a token? It can be surprisingly easy, said Mendoza.
Mendoza built a contraption that straps to his forearm and wirelessly steals magnetic secure transmission (known as an MST) when he picks up someone's phone, which can then email the token to his inbox, so he can compile it into another phone. Or, you can hide that hardware to a legitimate card-reading machine like you would with a traditional card skimmer.
He then loaded the token into a homebrew MagSpoof device, an open-source wireless magnetic stripe spoofer -- and, as simple as that, you can buy products.
Mendoza said that "every credit card, debit card or prepaid card from any affiliated bank" is affected by this kind of attack. But, he said, it will not work with gift cards, because Samsung Pay throws up a barcode to be scanned rather than transmits a signal.
Samsung did not say outright if it would fix the flaw.
"Samsung Pay is built with the most advanced security features, assuring all payment credentials are encrypted and kept safe, coupled with the Samsung Knox security platform," said a spokesperson for Samsung.
"If at any time there is a potential vulnerability, we will act promptly to investigate and resolve the issue," the Samsung spokesperson added.
Sorry, past my bedtime.
Someone explain this to me in the morning, mmmmkay?
NIghty-nite to the whole FREE REPUBLIC STAFF & crew...
I guess Samsung didn’t copy enough of Apple’s tech this time. This is Sansung “innovation”. Google makes their OS, they steal their designs from Apple and what they can’t get for free or steal - they botch.
PINGING dayglored, ThunderSleeps, and Shadow Ace for their ping lists.
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I hacked that pathetic Apple pay yesterday. A five year old can do it!!! Anyways your foam boy Tim Kook was kind enough to deposit seven million dollars into my Apple Pay account
Thanks Tim!! KOOK!!! KOOK KOOK KOOK FOAM PARTY BOY!
Dennis, Dennis, just take the meds the nice lady is offering. You'll feel much better soon.
:-)
Does anyone actually use Samsung Pay? Other than maybe Samsung employees and fanbois?
(Hell, I don't even use Apple Pay, which I consider is likely much more robust.)
If the Android devices were security-patched in reasonable time by their manufacturers it might be different, but my impression is that even though Google issues Android patches fairly quickly, the actual device makers are much slower to push out fixes for vulnerabilities than Apple or Microsoft.
So much for google having the smartest engineers on the planet.
I see that Baron Dennis Won Munchausen has graced us with his lying presence again.
Code, we cannot lay this at the feet of Google. This is Samsung's engineers, not Google at all. Android Pay is different than Samsung Pay. This is 100% Samsung.
Danger Will Robinson! Apple foam party dead ahead hosted by Tim KOOK! The Hillary fundraiser. What a KOOK!
dennisw, when the tequila tells you that now is a good time to post, the tequila is not your friend.
I got up early that day to lay into the foam party phonies at Apple. Stomp your Tim KOOK devices to bits today.
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