Newswatch: Europe.(smart cards usage)

UK ANALYST WARNS OF CHIP-AND-PIN SECURITY SHORTFALLS

The advent of "chip-and-PIN" smart cards, which requires users to enter a personal identification number instead of signing to complete a transaction, has raised the specter of possible security breaches that European banks and card issuers are not addressing, says Graham Titterington, principal analyst with UK-based consultancy Ovum Ltd. "The problem with PINs being stored in merchant databases, and then subsequently stolen along with other transaction data, is something that the banking industry has failed to discuss publicly," he says. According to Titterington, the possibility of fraudsters obtaining PIN numbers …