Dell: POS, encrypted malware attacks surge in 2014

Round Rock, Texas – Retailers experienced substantial increases in POS malware attacks and also an increase in malware traffic contained within encrypted Web protocols. According to the Dell Annual Threat Report, which leverages research from Dell’s Global Response Intelligence Defense (GRID) network and telemetry data from Dell SonicWall network traffic, the Dell SonicWall Threat Research Team created 13 POS malware signatures in 2014.



This number compares to three in 2013 for a 333% increase in the number of new POS malware countermeasures developed and deployed. The majority of these POS hits targeted the U.S. retail industry.



“Not only are more retailers being hacked, but many more attempts are being made on many more retailers,” said John Gordineer, director of product marketing Dell Security, during an exclusive interview with Chain Store Age. “The majority of attacks are on U.S. retailers, with Western European retailers coming in second.”



In addition to the increased quantity of attacks, Dell threat researchers observed an evolution of POS malware tactics.



“POS is becoming the area hackers are targeting,” said Gordineer. “They are not focusing on the central database but the POS itself.”



Gordineer said hackers are targeting unencrypted customer data collected at the POS in a distributed way such as skimmers that intercept payment card information.



Another major trend Dell observed was an increase of malware embedded inside secure Web traffic.



“Encrypted traffic on the Web is increasing,” said Gordineer. “Facebook, Google and Yahoo are encrypting all their traffic due to concerns about customer privacy. Sixty percent of all traffic on the Web is now encrypted.”



However, Gordineer said hackers are now encrypting malware within secure tunnels, making it more difficult for network gateway technology to detect it.



“You need a next-generation firewall to de-encrypt Web traffic, make sure no malware is there, re-encrypt it and send it along to the network,” said Gordineer.



Gordineer concluded with thoughts on the future potential for attacks on retailers conducted through wearable technology, such as the new Apple Watch.



“When it makes financial sense, the hackers will build attacks that target wearable technology,” he said. “A market leader and sales volume need to be established first.”