NFC Payments Security in Light of COVID-19 Pandemic: Review of Recent Security Threats and Protection Methods
Abdulrahman Khaled Abdulwahab, Wael Mohamed Elmedany · 2021 International Conference on Data Analytics for Business and Industry (ICDABI) · 2021
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed many aspects of behavior, often leading to more cautious lifestyles. Financial transactions have not been an exception; as people have reduced cash transactions due to fears of virus transmission. Naturally, this was accompanied by an acceleration of growth of online payment services. Online transactions, Mobile Money, and Near-Field Communication (NFC) contactless payments have all experienced noticeable growth during the pandemic. Consequently, related cyber-risks have simultaneously increased. This paper reviews the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on NFC contactless payments internationally and in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Then the paper briefly explains the technological components of NFC payments, comparing NFC card payments and NFC mobile payments. It then reviews three recently identified NFC payments security threats and their respective protection methods. Finally, the paper analyzes the common factors between these threats and provides recommendations related to physical security and user awareness.