NFCISO

NFCISO is a term used to describe a role or function within an organization focused on information security management specifically for near-field communication (NFC) technology and related services. It is not a universally standardized title or certification; responsibilities vary by organization but typically align with the broader duties of a chief information security officer (CISO) with a specialized focus on NFC.

A NFCISO oversees governance, risk management, compliance, and privacy for NFC deployments such as payments, access control, transit tickets, and smart posters. Duties include establishing security policies for NFC devices and applications, conducting risk assessments of NFC implementations, planning incident response, managing vulnerabilities, and ensuring supply chain security for NFC hardware and software.

Key security concerns include eavesdropping, relay attacks, data modification, cloning, and insecure key provisioning in secure elements or embedded cryptographic modules; risks to mobile wallets and integration with backend systems. The NFCISO conducts threat modeling, guides secure development practices, and evaluates cryptographic protections, mutual authentication, and secure channels to mitigate these threats.

NFCISO activities align with general information security standards and NFC-specific specifications, such as ISO/IEC 14443, ISO/IEC 18092, and ISO/IEC 15693, as well as payments standards like PCI DSS and EMVCo. They coordinate with risk management, compliance, and IT operations to implement controls such as tamper-resistant hardware, robust key management, secure element and NFC controller protections, device attestation, and regular security testing.

The term is used variably and may denote a formal job title within a company or an informal role. Given that NFC deployments often involve payment, access, and personal data, organizations typically reference broader security frameworks and privacy laws when defining the responsibilities of a NFCISO.