New security concerns raised for RedRose digital payment systems

Two players in the cash payments sector are squaring off after one company penetrated the other’s cyber security, accessing beneficiary records of a leading NGO, and revealing what they claim is a serious security flaw.

Emerson Tan, chief executive officer for Mautinoa Technologies — a self- acknowledged emerging competitor in the digital payments space — informed Devex last week that his organization had found a lack of security in an active RedRose deployment managed by Catholic Relief Services in West Africa. Through the security breach, they could access personal, economic, geographic, and photographic information about beneficiaries, which could be downloaded for offline analysis.

In response, RedRose denied that any systematic breach took place and said it was the victim of industrial espionage by its competitor. The organization said that their systems are secure.