The Marriott International hotel group is the latest company to announce a large-scale hack of a customer database.
The company says that although credit card data was encrypted, it believes it possible that the hackers got the encryption keys too …
As with many previous retailer hacks, exposed credit card information leaves customers open to fraudulent charges on their account.
Apple Pay offers protection against this type of hack, because actual card details are never passed to the company. Your iPhone, Watch or Mac instead generates a one-time code which is used in place of the card number. Once that transaction is completed, the code can never be reused.
Apple Pay can be used on the web, either from an iOS device or from a Mac. With a Mac equipped with Touch ID, you can do it directly on the Mac; with other models, you use your iPhone or Apple Watch to complete the purchase. Either way, it works the same way as an in-person transaction: only a one-time code is passed to the website.
But relatively few websites currently offer Apple Pay as a payment option, so for most online purchases – whether buying goods, booking a flight or reserving a hotel room – we have to hand over our card details. The growing number of hacks of retailer sites means we should all be pushing companies to accept Apple Pay, both online and offline, to reduce the risk.
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