60 Minutes USA recently did a great story on how criminals are able to hack into your smartphone by walking near you.

The story covered a few interesting developments. We at Armourcard were already across from the NFC exploitation of the android platform by contactless malicious code injection to trojans being hidden in free apps like games that you or children download.

You can view the full 60 minutes news story on smartphone hacking here

The malicious code injection or a hidden trojan can reap havoc by telling your cell phone to do something remotely. For example, with a little bit of malicious code injected via the NFC feature on your smartphone and with a walk-by from a criminal pushing out the malicious RFID signal to your phone via the NFC / RFID chip, the hack can tell your phone that next time you’re in a wifi zone to open up a browser in the background to a malicious URL that fools your phone to ‘update or backup’ to the cloud.

All your data from that smartphone is gone in an instant to “the cloud”(a hackers server).  Every ounce of data has a price and all these pieces are carved up by what is now known as a digital ‘chop shop’ and sold off. Everything from emails, SMS, passwords, credit card info, geo-location data. And what is most alarming is that your photos and photos of your family and kids can be sold and resurface on unsavory websites.

This new wave of crime which is starting to become more prevalent and is the reason we developed our latest product called Armourcell. It uses the same micro-jamming technology we developed for Armourcard and applies it to the NFC chip in your smartphone, effectively we close the backdoor to your cell phone by jamming the NFC signal until you want to use it. Given that this crime was most recently covered by 60 Minutes USA who ran two separate stories on hacking your smartphone just goes to shows that this crime is becoming mainstream today.

To find out more about how Armourcell can protect your Andriod smartphone go here

 

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All credit goes to the 60 minutes team in the USA for producing this story, you can see the original article on their website here at the 60 minutes news story on smartphone hacking

Armourcard has again been featured in the News Limited national Sunday papers across Australia in there travel lift out magazine ‘Escape’ in the travel essentials area ‘What to Pack’ on the 7 August 2016.

Tyler Harris the director went on to say

What a great surprise to be featured again in such a great weekend travel magazine, Escape, that is distributed in all the News Limited Sunday Newspapers

Harris went on to say…

It is a testament to our product offering as being not only the first to produce a Active RFID Micro Jammer in the world but to only offer the most superior protection from this type of invisible crime across a broad spectrum of products from Tap & Go credit cards, ePassports to hotel keys, travel passes and building entry keys that work on the global standard frequency for contact-less devices of 13.56Mhz.

We are a proud Australian company who have invented and patented this technology to help protect your personal information from being skimmed and used often without you ever knowing when or where it happened to you.

You can purchase your Armourcard from our online store or find a local retailer stocking Armourcard near you.

Make sure when you next travel, you travel with the superior protection that only Armourcard can provide.

Stay safe and be vigilant in protecting your data.

Travel Expert and Advice Column Recommends Armourcard to readers.

Acclaimed travel advice column  DOC HOLIDAY featured in the Sunday National News Limited  newspapers has recommended Armourcard as a must have while travelling.

In the Article Doc Holiday went on to say

I suggest you safeguard yourself for your up coming trip and your everyday movements with one of these cards

The Co Founder of Armourcard Tyler Harris made comments

This was a fantastic surprise  to wake up to this article this morning while out having breakfast with my family.

Harris went on to say:

…with a lot of passive card type devices currently flooding the market and being touted trying to blur the lines between their products and our patented technology, we are so pleased to see that the travel professionals who we look to for advice recommend Armourcard as the best product to protect you.

Armourcard is the only product to have FCC (Federal Communication Commission) approval as we needed it as Armourcard emits a “Jamming signal”, we are also TSA approved to go through airport security.

You may also like this article / consumer alert-RFID protect cards are not created equal

[Article appeared in the Doc Holiday expert weekly advice on travel queries feature in the National Sunday News Limited Papers on Sunday 6th March 2016]

To read the article see the newspaper snipet below.

After the US launch of Armourcard at CES 2016 in Las Vegas Nevada earlier this month, it seems we have made quiet an impression with the media and in particular tech writers.

Ben Crosser from PHA media Technology & Innovation team  have pulled together a list of Top 10 Safety & Security Companies to Watch at CES 2016

Ben intro’s the piece

Another year, another CES, brimming with start-ups and household names alike, looking to become the next big tech trend. But who will come out victorious? In the third of a six-part series, we give our verdict on the most awe-inspiring hopefuls of the New Year in the Safety & Security category.

Ben goes on the say:

CES in Las Vegas is a haven of game-changing companies and products – not least in the safety & security sector. Throughout 2015 we saw hundreds of headlines that both highlighted vulnerabilities and emphasised the need for viable solutions – from cyber security to child safety.

And continues…

From over 500 impressive companies exhibiting at CES from 6-8 January, we have identified a list of 10 to keep an eye on in 2016, as they look to revolutionise the safety & security industry as we know it.

At Armourcard we are so thrilled to be included on such a prestigious list.

One of Armourcard’s founders Tyler Harris responded to the news …

It’s fantastic to see that we have made an impression at the worlds largest Consumer Electronic Show, it is a testament to all the hard work both the Australian and our US associates have put in to get us to the show. The feedback, retail opportunities from launching Armourcard and the new soon to be released Armourcell product on the global stage has really been exciting.

Harris added…

The year ahead is already shaping up to be very busy, with the heightened interest in both our products generated from our launch at CES we are already in talks with some exciting potential retail opportunities both in the US and abroad off the back of the show.

The full article can be Read here

 

If you are interested in stocking Armourcard please enquire here via our contact us page

Armourcard gets featured on iTProTV live stream at CES2016 Las Vegas Nevada

With the dust barley settling after Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas we thought it might be a good time to share some of the media and attention Armourcard got for the US launch and iTProTV is the first off the rank.

CES2016 was the US launch of Armourcard and we generated a lot of interest in our jamming technology. The stand often had 20 people crowded around watching the demonstration and how Armourcard offers the most superior active electronic protection on the market today.

iTProTv’s host Don Pezet approached us for a live on-air stream interview on the first day of the show.

Here is one of our Founders Tyler Harris explaining a little bit about the skimming problem and how Armourcard’s active jamming solution is the ‘end game’ for your protection.

There is no better protection than electronically jamming the communication link these devices talk over, that is what Armourcard does.

Armourcard is the only RFID protective product certified by Federal Communication Commission (FCC), we had to be as we emit a signal and that signal is jamming the frequency 13.56Mhz which is the most common frequency contactless devices like credit cards, ePassports, building entry cards & NFC phones use to communicate over.

Armourcard has FCC certification

 

Thanks Don and all the iTProTv team for stopping by and featuring us on your great Technology TV show.

RFID Protective cards – understand the difference before you buy.

Over the past few months it has come to our attention that consumers are judging the effectiveness of the RFID protective cards they are purchasing against retail point of sale terminals.

Based on this method of testing these RFID Protective cards give the appearance of being very effective at blocking a transaction being processed and have received a number of very positive reviews.

The truth is that if you place two PayPass cards together and present them to a retail (tap & go) terminal the transaction will NOT go through. This is so the consumer can make the decision of which card they wish to present to the terminal. Don’t be fooled though, any standard reader (like the one in the image to the right) that can be purchased online will not give you this option and will take the information off the first card that responds to its requests. These readers have anti-collision software so it does not matter how many cards are being interrogated it will always get at least one.

The criminals who perpetrate this electronic pickpocket crime would rarely use a retail style (tap & go) terminal to skim, they are more likely to use a standard off the shelf reader and ‘amp up’ the antenna and signal strength.

The way in which some of these cards are marketed and the terms that they use to boost the hype imply that the cards are loaded with top secret and patented technology some even drop names such as “NASA”  to increase their worth.

The truth is actually quite different. Often a standard programable RFID card worth about $0.75 is programmed with essentially garbage in an attempt to confuse the terminal which is trying to interrogate it. This has been shown to be inconsistent in its protective ability and thus cannot reliably support the claims that are being made.

As there is no regulatory body governing the standards of products in this field, it has been left open for anybody to jump on board and try to make a quick dollar. The few companies that have invested significantly in research and development to effectively protect the consumer have been left trying to defend and differentiate their products from those who have clearly blurred the lines and cannot support or prove the claims that are being made. The sooner this industry can be regulated the better.

Where does this leave you? the best advice is to research the product you are considering purchasing.

If it claims to Jam does it have FCC approval?

If it claims to have patented technology is there a reference to a patent? (don’t be fooled by a ™ next to a word, that does not constitute a patent but merely a logo or term being trademarked)

If it claims to be active does it have a battery?

As a consumer you must do your research and due diligence until there is a regulatory body who can help govern the claims being made. Protecting your identity from theft is a serious business and you should only look for companies and products who are serious about protecting your data & not who just want to jump on the band wagon for a quick dollar.

The decision is ultimately yours as to how much worth protecting your personal data is to you.

Beware, Be Aware and Stay Vigilant.

Armourcard has a stand at CES 2016 (Consumer Electronic Show) in Las Vegas January 6th – 9th

We are very excited to be present with a stand at CES 2016 this coming January.  You will be able to come say hello to the inventors and founders plus see the Armourcard product for US launch.

You will also be privy to a new Armourcard product for the protection of NFC enabled smartphones & tablets to be released soon.

Our stand will located in the Personal & Cyber Security marketplace so if you are lucky enough to be going come by and see us.

Booth number: 21931
Venue: LVCC South 1
Marketplace: Personal & Cyber Security

For media opportunities please contact Tyler Harris [email protected]

To arrange times to discuss US sales opportunities please contact Tyler [email protected]

We look forward to seeing you in Vegas.

#ces2016

Armourcard review by APC magazine

APC or Australian Personal Computing has featured Armourcard in a recent article on travel goods and travel essentials.

Lindsay Handmer one of the journalists at APC reviewed Armourcard and tested and gave a very good review of 4 stars.

(in-fact no product got a higher score from all the products reviewed.)

Next time you travel the article that reviews Armourcard as an essential travel good to take with you, especially with ePassports, tap & go credit / debit cards and many hotel keys able to be skimmed.

Don’t travel without one, the Armourcard reviews say.

To read the full review Read APC article

SKY NEWS Money interviews Tyler Harris

On Friday 21st August 2015, one of Armourcard’s Directors Tyler Harris was asked to be a guest speaker on SKY NEWS MONEY the Money Exchange show with Andrew Barnett.

The interview titled:

Electronic Pick Pocketing. What is it and how to avoid it?

In the interview Tyler was asked by Andrew from the Money Exchange one of SKY NEWS money segments  some key questions surrounding the topic ranging from:

What is electronic pick pocketing and how prevalent is it? 

right through to…

So when they scan my details what do they get and how can they use it?

In the live on-air filming of SKY NEWS Money Exchange Show with Andrew Barnett, Harris went on to say:

Its not just about credit cards and fiscal loss off a card, the bigger picture is profiling you for identity theft.

He also went on to say:

Identity theft is a growing global concern

And as more of this type of technology comes into our lives we must start to protect ourselves from exploitation of the very same technology found in these tap & go credits and ePassports.

Watch the SKY NEWS Money Exchange segment above, the interview starts at 2:47 in the video.

Short video demonstration of Armourcards jamming technology in action.

Not all protective devices are equal, in-fact passive devices like RFID blocking wallets & RFID shielding credit card sleeves have a varying degree of effectiveness and often can still be penetrated if a criminal boosts the power on an RFID reader (purchased for less $100) and pumps up the antenna strength. (easy to do just search on the internet for free instructions)

We tackled the skimming issue differently, Armourcard is the 1st product to offer active protection, what that means is Armourcard will instantly power up when someone tries to skim your credit cards or ePassports and it will emit a jamming signal that electronically jams the frequency these credit cards & passport communicate over (13.56MHz). It does not matter if a criminal boosts the power of a reader or amps up the antenna strength as it can not penetrate the jamming of this frequency?(13.56MHz) that Armourcard puts out.

So if you’re wanting superior protection from wireless skimming then Armourcard is for you. Watch how easy it is to protect your credit cards in this video demonstration.

 

BUY Armourcard NOW!