BACK TO SCHOOL FINANCE 101: Don´t Send Your Children Back to School With Holes in Their Wallets!

ANAHEIM HILLS, Calif., May. 21 /PRNewswire/ --

ANAHEIM HILLS, Calif., May 21 /PRNewswire/ -- With identity-theft and credit card fraud concerns rising, California-based Kena Kai wants to educate students about a new high-tech way to protect their credit cards. Kena Kai designs the patent-pending, and Government certified, DataSafe(R) Wallet line that utilize multiple layers of radio-frequency (RF) shielding material to protect the millions of new wireless "contactless credit cards" that will be issued to students this year. A thief today does not even have to physically touch your student's wallet to steal their information anymore!

Credit cards have become an integral part in today's campus life. With the recent introduction of credit cards and passports that contain an electronic wireless chip, sometimes referred to as an RFID (radio-frequency identification) chip, these critical and very personal tools in our daily life are now at risk. With most advances in technology come tradeoffs and this is no exception. While these new cards and passports offer greater convenience they are also open to "skimming" -- the wireless access and/or copying of personal information stored on these cards -- from a distance. Researchers from the University of Massachusetts have shown that they could access a credit card user's name, the number and the expiration from more than twenty feet away -- through their clothing and ordinary wallets!

"Even though there are inherent security measures built into these new 'contactless credit cards' and ePassports, we recognize the public's concern regarding identity-theft and 'tracking,' and have designed these stylish wallets with multiple layers of RF shielding material that completely blocks unwanted access to the user's personal information," offered Geb Masterson, president of Kena Kai. "Without the DataSafe shielding technology your information is accessible to any hacker," added Masterson.

The researchers claim that nearly 20+ million radio-frequency identification (RFID) credit cards in circulation today could be vulnerable to skimming attacks, which could harvest names and credit-card details from the cards of passersby. A skimming attack uses a normal reader, or one that has been enhanced to read cards from a greater distance, to grab unencrypted data from the card.

"Without even removing their cards from wallets or pockets, consumers can potentially see their privacy and security compromised," Ari Juels, an author of the University of Massachusetts' paper and researcher at RSA Labs, stated in a blog post. "A scanner in a crowded subway station might surreptitiously harvest credit-card data from passersby."

The new DataSafe Collection will retail between $50 and $200. The Collection will be available in fine Italian leathers and rugged ballistic nylons. The current collection of wallets can be found at http://www.kenakai.com.

With a distinctive combination of style and innovation, Kena Kai designs "The World's Safest Wallets(TM)." Full-color photos and information for the full DataSafe product line can be obtained by emailing Nelleke Masterson at nelleke@kenakai.com.

Contact: Nelleke Masterson, 714.782.7387, nelleke@kenakai.com

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