Article Nine: June 14

article used:
http://tech.yahoo.com/news/ap/20090615/ap_on_hi_te/us_tec_shoppers__gamble

Have you ever wondered how credit cards work and if your truly safe using them? Well every time you swipe your credit card and wait for it to go through, sensitive data including your name and account number are transferred from store to back through computer networks, which is a potential opening for hackers. Well the Associated Press investigation has found that some banks and other companies that handle your information are not being nearly as cautious as they could. The government leaves it to credit card companies to design security rules that protect the nation's 50 billion annual transactions. So every time we use a credit card companies are gambling with our personal information. More than 70 retailers and payment processors have disclosed breaches since 2006, involving tens of millions of credit and debit card numbers, according to the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse. Credit card providers don't appear to be in a rush to tighten the rules.

I think that we need to be more cautious with using credit cards because technology is becoming more powerful and people and becoming smarter. As much as our society relies on credit cards we need to make sure our privacy is protected 100%. Technology allows credit card companies to keep tabs on what customers are doing with their money, which includes where they shop, what they spend, and whether they pay their bills for other credit cards , their car payments, and mortgages. Technology can cross borders and that is why it so important to regulate it and make sure our credit card information is safe.

Credit cards are not going anywhere if anything more things will resemble credit cards. I think like anything else that deals with technology we need to monitor it closely and make sure that our society is safe.

References:
Congress And Credit Cards: The Death Of Privacy, The Sunset Of Lying. 20 May 2009. 14 June 2009. http://247wallst.com/2009/05/20/congress-and-credit-cards-the-death-of-privacy-the-sunset-of-lying/.

Robertson, Jordan. AP IMPACT: Weak security enables credit card hacks. 14 June 2009. 14 June 2009 http://tech.yahoo.com/news/ap/20090615/ap_on_hi_te/us_tec_shoppers__gamble.