By: Nicole Perlroth
Source: New York Times
http://nyti.ms/1pmIDaw
On July 31,
the Department of Homeland Security has detected a new malware called
“Backoff.” This new malware had affected over 1,000 businesses. “Backoff”
steals the information from payment cards without the company’s awareness.
Criminals attempt to break into the company’s networking system in order to
obtain the passwords of the payment system. The largest known breach has been
against Target. Criminals stole payment information from millions of customers
for several weeks. Due to this event, banks and companies have developed a
chip-based smart card known as E.M.V, or Europay-MasterCard-Visa. All companies
were recommended to use this smart card due to the problem with the stripes on
credit cards. However, most companies will not make the upgrade due to the cost
of purchasing the smart card. Once the criminals steal payment information,
they sell it at the black market. The Secret Service recommends that all
companies use long, complex passwords for their network and encrypt payment
information the moment it is used. Companies were also suggested to use two
passwords and lock out users after several attempts.
Hacking has
become a major problem since the advancement in technology. Stealing credit
card information is a serious issue because criminals could use the information
to purchase products that will be billed to the owners of the credit card. All
companies should find ways to protect themselves from hackers before they lose
all their customers. It is highly important that companies find a way to stop
their network from being breached. E.M.V. is one of the few systems that will
help protect hackers from stealing payment information. The more advanced
E.M.V. becomes, the more protection people and companies will have against
hackers.
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