Cybersecurity research identifies governance gaps and credit card vulnerabilities

New research highlights significant vulnerabilities in both corporate digital governance and financial transaction security.

At Simula Research Laboratory, a study of 33 health enterprises revealed a 'strategic illusion' regarding digital security. While 92 percent of board members believe they ensure security strategies align with corporate goals, an analysis of 594 board protocols shows that 77 percent of digital security matters are merely for information or status reporting rather than active decision-making. Furthermore, nearly half of the board members only discuss digital security once a year, raising concerns that oversight may become a mere 'paper exercise' without regular, critical engagement.

Separately, researchers from the University of Massachusetts Amherst presented findings at the USENIX Security 2026 conference regarding 'zombie' credit cards. The study demonstrates that expired physical cards can potentially be reused for fraudulent payments because the underlying accounts remain active. Using a 'man-in-the-middle' attack via NFC technology and two smartphones, researchers showed it is possible to intercept a payment request and alter the expiration date to trick a POS terminal into accepting an expired card.