As computer networks become more complex, they become more vulnerable to hackers. These weak points can take the form of hardware, operating system bugs, software and users who don’t adhere to security policies. One of the best ways to uncover them is to get a hacker to break in. What is Penetration Testing? It’s essentially… Read More »
The Battle Over Digital Payments at the Cash Register
Apple has launched their their new digital wallet service, but not all North American retailers are on board with the new service. Retailers that are members of the Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX) organization are developing an alternative based around an app that uses visual QR codes. The app is called CurrentC, and is currently in… Read More »
J.P. Morgan Chase Breach Affecting Up To 83 Million Accounts
It seems every few weeks, another organization announces a big data breach putting their customers at risk. This time it’s the largest bank in the United States. J.P. Morgan Chase announced a breach on August 27th, but initially believed the number of compromised accounts was much smaller. It wasn’t until October 2nd that they revealed 76 million… Read More »
Printers Are the Invisible Security Risk on Your Network
The days of printers as simple unsophisticated devices are long gone. Today’s printers are specialized computers that have their own processors, RAM and storage. They also have easy setups and internal web pages for adjusting settings and updating firmware. The printer manufacture’s goal is to make their devices faster, more versatile and more user-friendly to… Read More »
Homeland Security Warns of Retail Malware Threat
As banks and financial institutions have become harder to break into, cyber criminals have increasingly turned to targeting retail operations. According to an advisory issued last week by the DHS, the malware family known as Backoff has been identified in three forensic investigations of large-scale Point-of-Sale (POS) data breaches. The malware reads credit and debit… Read More »
Wiping Your Old Android Device Isn’t Enough
The average user’s upgrade cycle for smartphones and tablets is around two years. If the old device is still in good shape once the user upgrades, individual users and small businesses usually sell it or pass it along to someone else. Big companies send obsolete devices to companies that specialize in recycling end-of-life electronics.… Read More »
Protecting Your Bitcoin Wallet from Virtual Pickpockets
Bitcoin is a form of worldwide electronic currency not tied to a specific country. This makes it a popular form of international trade, especially in countries where the local currency has little value. In November 2013, Bitcoins hit an all-time high of $1,124.76 US dollars. While the exchange rate has fallen in the last… Read More »
6 Ways Small Retailers Can Keep Their Point-of-Sale System Safer
Point-of-Sale (POS) computers are an increasingly attractive target to hackers. The security breach at Target during the 2013 holiday season was the most serious in recent memory, but Target is hardly the only victim. It seems every week there’s a story in the news about retailers getting hacked and exposing their customers’ credit card numbers and… Read More »
