Researchers at a Dutch university have managed to hack London Underground’s Oyster card ticket system, putting free credit on a card using a laptop and specially adapted software.

The hack involved cracking the encryption code used by the contactless cards, which are based on the Mifare payment system.

The same team, from Radbout University in Nijmegen, managed to crack a similar system in Holland earlier in the year, causing the Dutch government to ditch the Mifare system.

Further reading

One-touch commerce Banks and retailers are throwing their weight behind contactless payments systems, giving rise to the e-wallet

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