New Android NFC Attack Could Steal Money From Credit Cards Anytime Your Phone Is Near

Your NFC capable Android smartphone could be the newest weapon hackers use to steal money from the credit cards in your pocket, researchers find.  In a presentation at Hat In The Box Security Conference in Amsterdam, security researchers Ricardo J. Rodriguez and Jose Vila presented a demo of a real world attack, to which all NFC capable Android phones are vulnerable. This attack, delivered through poisoned apps, exploits the NFC feature allowing unethical hackers to steal money from victims’ credit cards anytime the cards are near the victims' phone.

Near Field Communication or NFC is a short-range contactless communication system that uses wireless data to allow various technologies in in close proximity to each other to communicate without the need for an Internet connection. NFC is the primary technology that allows for features like Android Beam. Android Beam allows Android users to swap pictures or contacts by holding two devices together. NFC technology has been increasingly used in cashless payment systems such as Google Wallet and now Android Pay.