Armed guards - a secure chip and PIN alternative?

A chip and PIN device is going nationwide this week which incorporates a magnifying screen that distorts the machine's keypad to prevent shoulder surfers stealing PIN numbers.

silicon.com readers were quick to share how they would build on this simple idea to make paying by card a whole lot safer.

Stephen Meredith, marketing director of IT security from York, said: "I think they should go the whole way and build private cubicles next to each checkout with armed guards."

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Nick Cole, a reader from Scotland, said society is over-dependent on chip and PIN technology and said it generates a false sense of security.

He added: "What is required is a mix of solutions to be taken together, some low-tech, some high-tech."

A novel suggestion came from Jonathan Baker, who said a better solution would be to get rid of the keypad and have a touchscreen that moves the location of each digit on the screen and an LCD with a narrow viewing angle so the customer can read the number - but a shoulder surfer could not.

Another reader said: "The only way to guard against fraud is to have the consumer authorise their day's purchases, online in a different session, via their online banking."

Greg Rozelle came up with a simpler low-tech suggestion. He said people should cover the chip and PIN screen with their hands and cards should ditch the magnetic strip.

Last year silicon.com reported on skimming - the major security weakness in bank cards associated with the magnetic strip.