Security Concerns and Benefits

• In light of Home Depot and Target's security breaches, there are solutions already being executed in order to assist buyers in defending their credit-debit information and other private information that was exposed during the infiltration. The Information Technology Business trade journal explains the new Masked Credit Cards created by the company Abine, which "protect consumers' existing credit cards by providing an alternative to giving out their real credit card for purchases. Masked Credit Cards have completely unique 16-digit card numbers, expiration dates, and security codes, so merchants never get consumers' real credit card info. These cards can be created with any existing debit or credit card, expire right after you use them" (Abine's Masked Credit Cards, 2014). This is a useful alternative for people who are wary about using their personal credentials to make purchases.
  
  

• The only concerns that could arise from this type of security implementation is that customers will have to use their credit or debit cards to make this card, so they are still exposing their financial credentials to a company that could be securely unstable, a crucial factor that they may not contemplate until it is too late and Abine is hit with a breach of its own. A secondary issue could be that consumers may have to continue purchasing Masked Credit Cards since they are a one-time-only use for every purchase. Overall, while measures of defense against data breaches can be formulated and implemented, they must be done so enough time and consideration since one small flaw could prove fatal to the whole recovery process.