Chip-and-Sign Credit Card Systems Are Weak,FBI warns

The FBI has a stern warning for the credit card industry's latest security measure, the EMV chip. In a statement yesterday, the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center warned that the new chips don't prevent against online fraud or point-of-sale compromises of the type seen in the Target hack. The warning emphasizes the weakness of signature-based systems ("chip and sign" rather than "chip and PIN"), and instructs merchants to require a PIN number in place of a signature wherever possible. "This fully utilizes the security features built within the EMV card," the warning states.
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