Point of Sale (PoS) Attacks Hurt Businesses Large and Small

A Point of Sale (PoS) attack is designed to steal card information or to skim off of your revenue. Either way, a PoS can prove detrimental to any business. It’s been over a year, but the sting of all of the card information stolen through Target’s PoS system during the 2013 holiday season still lingers.

Just how big of a problem are these attacks? In 2015 alone, business lost over Billion to PoS attacks. We think that’s pretty serious.

The Latest Weapon in the PoS Attack Arsenal

Now that most PoS systems are online, the job of PoS attackers is even easier. Cybercriminals use RAM malware to:

• Steal card info
• Encrypt the theft
• Install a failsafe to delete breach activity

Why Target Small Businesses?

If you own an SMB, that doesn’t mean you are safe from cybercriminals. Nearly half of PoS RAM attacks target small businesses. Why? The short answer is… not as much security.

It’s the same reason organized crime used to hit up small local businesses for part of their profits rather than going after national companies. Now cybercriminals use the same tactics. Small businesses have fewer defenses and fewer resources for going after the criminals.

How to Protect Your Business

Large or small, your business needs solutions for PoS malware. Here are a few things you can do to take positive action:

• Make sure your payment applications meet current security standards
• Use antimalware tools that protect your email as well as desktop and mobile devices
• Keep all platforms and software up to date with the latest security patches
• Require users to create strong passwords
• Set up a firewall to protect your servers
• Disable ports that are not being used
• Log all network events and monitor logs for suspicious activity

Again, this is a tall order for SMBs that may not have an in-house tech department. That is why you need to protect your PoS system by hiring a technical support service that offers data and network security services.