Google Wallet launch delayed in Canada?

In October Techvibes reported that Google Wallet would be coming to Canada in early 2012. No word yet on when the official launch will be but it looks like its introduction to Canada could be delayed because of a number of reported vulnerabilities.

According to Security Watch's Neil Rubenking, if Google Wallet is installed on a rooted Android phone, a quick and simple brute force attack can extract the PIN and allow a thief to spend your Google Wallet funds.

A Google spokesperson responded to Rubenking's post saying that "there is no known vulnerability that enables someone to take a consumer phone and gain root access while preserving any Wallet information such as the PIN". And added "we strongly encourage people to not install Google Wallet on rooted devices and to always set up a screen lock as an additional layer of security for their phone."

Google Wallet's problems didn't end there.  A site titled The Smartphone Champ revealed a second flaw, one that works on any phone rooted or not.

Simply put, a thief can gain access to all funds in your Google prepaid card by wiping out Google Wallet's data and launching it again. On launching without any data, Google Wallet invites the thief to connect with a Google account and create a new PIN. But since the prepaid card is linked to the device, not the account, all the thief needs to do is select the default card for instant access to your funds.

A video on the Smartphone Champ site walks through the simple steps required.

We may be waiting awhile for Google Wallet to makes its debut in Canada.