Ever since the infamous and massive security breach at retailer Target nearly five years ago, more and more attention has focused on the potential flaws that can make payment systems vulnerable to digital attack.

And now, with payments increasingly shifting to mobile platforms, it appears that the potential for hacking the mobile point-of-sale (mPOS) systems that make it possible for merchants to accept card and even cryptocurrency payments on-the-go is also shifting.

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Presenting at the Black Hat USA information security conference last week in Las Vegas, prominent U.K. security researchers showcased recent research detailing the inherent vulnerabilities they discovered among four of the most popular mPOS systems operating in both the United States and Europe. In what is believed to be the most comprehensive review of mPOS security to-date, security researchers from London-based Positive Technologies plumbed the inner workings of the mobile payment infrastructure of seven mPOS readers offered by Square, SumUp, PayPal and iZettle and found a host of potential ways to hack these systems.

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