Can a Snapper be hacked?
Snapper is a new generation smartcard, and unlike earlier generations of smartcards that have been hacked, Snapper is based on the world leading Infineon and SmartMX (by NXP) chipsets.
Snapper is a new generation contactless smartcard. Snapper uses finance industry standard authentication mechanisms based on 3DES (also referred to as Triple DES) to uniquely sign and protect transactions and ensure cards do not accept unauthorised data.
The card is protected from replaying of previous messages and man-in-the-middle attacks. The keys held on the card are not externally accessible and are set at time of manufacture.
The Triple DES security is standard in financial cards and Snapper has been approved in New Zealand by EFTPOS NZ and ANZ banks as a secure mechanism for connection through to the nationwide EFTPOS network.
If you're having trouble making sense of the "geek speak" this just means that Snapper is about as secure as you can get.