Infosec links January 6, 2015

Chip & PIN vs. Chip & Signature - Brian Krebs - Krebs on Security

The Obama administration recently issued an executive order requiring that federal agencies migrate to more secure chip-and-PIN based credit cards for all federal employees that are issued payment cards. The move marks a departure from the far more prevalent “chip-and-signature” standard, an approach that has been overwhelmingly adopted by a majority of U.S. banks that are currently issuing chip-based cards. This post seeks to explore some of the possible reasons for the disparity.

Banks' Lawsuits Against Target for Losses Related to Hacking Can Continue - Nicole Perlroth - The New York Times

The ruling is one of the first court decisions to clarify the legal confusion between retailers and banks in data breaches. In the past, banks were often left with the financial burden of a hacking and were responsible for replacing stolen cards. The cost of replacing stolen cards from Target’s breach alone is roughly $400 million — and the Secret Service has estimated that some 1,000 American merchants may have suffered from similar attacks.

Banks: Card Breach at Some Chick-fil-A's - Brian Krebs - Krebs on Security

The source said his institution saw Chick-fil-A locations across the country impacted, but that the bulk of the fraud seemed concentrated at locations in Georgia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia.

 This post first appeared on Exploring Information Security.