Krebs: Fraudsters show plenty of innovation

Whatever your opinion of fraudsters who steal and resell consumer credit card data, you can’t deny they are highly innovative.



This was the key message of a presentation security blogger Brian Krebs gave at the Gartner Symposium ITxpo 2015 in Orlando, Florida, on Oct. 4.



Krebs said that organized criminals using the “dark Web,” or websites running on private encrypted networks that do not show up in standard search indexes, are displaying high levels of technical and business innovation. For example, hackers are continually developing software that can remotely attack retail POS systems to gain access to payment card data, and penetrate the latest security measures.



In addition, data thieves are now using many of the same solutions and strategies legitimate retailers use to maximize sales and customer satisfaction. These efforts include loyalty programs, data analytics to determine customer preferences such as type of card or issuing bank, and money-back guarantees.



Furthermore, Krebs said the ease and relatively light legal penalties of card fraud has prompted street gangs who normally rely on the riskier narcotics trade to start using stolen card data to purchase mass quantities of merchandise for quick, cheap resale.



“There has never been such a glut of stolen information out there,” Krebs told the audience. “One of the interesting things that comes out of all this, is innovation.”