CurrentC, an alternative payment method to Apple Pay, has already been hacked and some users’ email addresses obtained.
The platform, launched by the company MCX, is currently being used only as a pilot program, and is expected to see a full launch some time in 2015. This event, however, will likely cause significant delays in their launch.
The company released the following statement to its users via email after the event:
Thank you for your interest in CurrentC. You are receiving this message because you are either a participant in our pilot program or requested information about CurrentC. Within the last 36 hours, we learned that unauthorized third parties obtained the e-mail addresses of some of you. Based on investigations conducted by MCX security personnel, only these e-mail addresses were involved, and no other information.
In an abundance of caution, we wanted to make you aware of this incident and urge you not to open links or attachments from unknown third parties. Also know that neither CurrentC nor Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX) will ever send you emails asking for your financial account, social security number or other personally identifiable information. So if you are ever asked for this information in an email, you can be confident it is not from us and you should not respond.
MCX is continuing to investigate this situation and will provide updates as necessary. We take the security of your information extremely seriously, apologize for any inconvenience and thank you for your support of CurrentC.
The Importance Of Security
This event underscores the importance of data sensitivity, and the value of a decentralized, pseudo-anonymous system.
After all, such an event is impossible with Bitcoin, since Bitcoin doesn’t collect any personal information in order to use it. But when one’s data sits in a centralized location, it becomes vulnerable to security risk.
Will MCX’s CurrentC survive such a negative event so early in their life? Let us know in the comments below.
Apple Pay Competitor CurrentC Launches Pilot Program, Gets Hacked
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