Starbucks Mobile Payment App Stores Credentials As Plain Text Files

There is a lot of concern over the security of our personal data these days, what with the NSA spying on us and retailers like Target and Neiman Marcus having their security compromised and customer data stolen, so the last thing we really need is to find out that your daily trips to Starbucks could potentially end up costing you more than a venti-sized iced caramel macchiato. According to Daniel Wood, a security researcher, he found that the Starbucks mobile payment app is actually not as secure as you might think. In fact it was found that the mobile payment app actually stores your personal data, like GPS location, passwords, email, addresses, and etc. all in a plain text file, meaning that anyone with access to your phone and a computer will have no problems retrieving the information.

This was an issue with the app back in 2013 which the company has claimed to have improved upon, but Wood found out that was not the case as the information was still just as accessible as before. Starbucks has since confirmed and acknowledged the security flaw to Computerworld but reassures customers that they have security measures in place and that usernames and passwords are safe. We’re sure many would have thought the same of Target and Neiman Marcus as well, but the recent events have proven otherwise. In any case hopefully Starbucks will be addressing this issue (again) soon for the sake of coffee drinkers around the world.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Cellphones
Tags: Apps, Security, starbucks