Target ended up settling a class action suit from the breach for $39 million and incurring another $19.9 million in associated legal costs. Target: The retail giant fell victim to one of the largest and most publicized data breaches of all time in late 2013 after attackers infected its POS systems with the Trojan.POSRAM malware and stole PII and payment card information on as many as 70 million target customers.Here are just a few examples from recent years:
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Many of the most high profile data breaches of customer payment information involved POS security compromises.
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Examples of Data Breaches Involving POS Security Compromises From there the data is moved to another location within the target’s environment for aggregation and finally offloaded to an external location accessible to the attacker. Once inside, the attacker installs malware, which spreads until it can access the system’s memory and collect the desired data. According to the SANS Institute, “the basic POS breach phases include infiltration, propagation, exfiltration and aggregation.” In the first phase, an attacker gains access to the targeted systems, often by exploiting a system vulnerability or through social engineering techniques. Many attackers are just looking for targets using systems that are vulnerable and launching automated attacks on their POS environments. It is important to acknowledge that all POS systems do have some level of risk when it comes to security.
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POS security aims to create a safe environment for customers to complete their purchases and transactions, and it’s a must-have measure for fostering trust with today’s consumers. POS security, or point-of-sale security, is the prevention of unauthorized access to electronic payment systems by individuals who are typically looking to steal customers’ personal details such as credit card information.
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Learn how to secure POS systems against compromises and data theft in Data Protection 101, our series on the fundamentals of information security.