By Katherine Cyberattacks have severely affected the retail sector. They are targeting large amounts of credit card data as well as personally identifiable customer information. Hackers have used compromised Point of Sale Software (POS) as a vector of attack. Hackers have taken advantage of POS Software to gain access to a retailer’s network. These systems are usually the weakest link in any retailer’s network infrastructure.
What is a POS Attack and how can you avoid it?
An attacker can exploit vulnerable POS Software to steal financial information stored in temporary memory. Keyloggers can be used to record keystrokes and RAM scrapers to steal card data before encryption. To exfiltrate data from outside of the retailer’s network, the malware makes a connection to the attacker’s computer. Advanced malware attacks might also use POS Software to gain access to the retailer’s corporate network. They may then move laterally – ultimately establishing connections to critical servers, applications, and databases to exfiltrate large amounts of data.
Point of Sale Systems are Easy Targets
Most retailers aren’t updating their POS Software with security solutions. Instead, they use standard antivirus software to comply with minimum security requirements. Here are some reasons why POS Software is an easy target for hackers:
Operating System Vulnerabilities
Most POS Software attacks are successful because of flaws in the operating system. Many retailers continue to use Windows XP, which Microsoft has discontinued supporting, or legacy Linux software. It is a significant capital and operational expense to upgrade to a new OS, especially considering the thousands of POS Software available. This is why many retail businesses settle for antivirus software as a weak safety measure.
Software Patch Management
Not all OEMs discover OS vulnerabilities quickly enough. Even if they did, it can take months or even years to create a patch and test it before it is deployed. POS systems are vulnerable to attacks as they become more sophisticated and frequent. These vulnerabilities are easy to exploit by hackers to infect multiple POS systems within a retailer’s network. A lack of data governance and disregarding compliance requirements, such as PCI-DSS4.0, can lead to massive breaches that compromise the credit card and personal information of millions of customers.
Reactive Security Approach
The most common signature-based antivirus software is based on known bad behavior and signs. It cannot prevent unknown threats or zero-day attacks. Retailers must move away from reactive security solutions to adopt a proactive approach to protect their networks and POS systems.
Why Cyber Security at POS is Important?
When choosing point-of-sale software, security is a key of software consideration. One of the most overlooked security features in POS Software is the ability to restrict access to certain features for specific employees. Most managers won’t believe that anyone would use your POS Software to their advantage. This is why they may not prioritize internal security. Despite being trusted, POS Software security filters can still be very important for even the most trustworthy team.
Both internal and external protection
A POS can be used to prevent accidental data mishandling or data breaches in many different ways. Your business will be held responsible if a data breach occurs if your point-of-sale is used to collect customer information such as payment information and contact information. You can help prevent mishaps by restricting certain data access to employees who are required to use it in their jobs. This will also ensure that your store retains customer trust.
Security measures should be understood by all employees, at all levels. This doesn’t mean that workers should be viewed as untrustworthy. Companies need to operate transparently when security measures are in place.
A new employee may be learning the POS software and have unrestricted access to the whole system. This could result in data deletions or accidental data changes. A mobile POS employee may forget to log off after a shift change. Sometimes, a mobile POS employee might forget to log out after a shift change. Unauthorized users can gain access to your system in both of these situations.
Erply can be used to log out of mobile POS systems after inactivity. Your business will remain safe even if the device is lost. Erply lets you create a list with approved devices that can be used for both the back office as well as the POS. You can have peace of mind knowing that your systems are secure from outside sources by setting up approved devices.
Ransomware Protection – How can you protect your POS system and data from cyber-attacks?
Do not click on unsafe links. There is a possibility that your computer could be infected if you click on malicious links.
Do not download an email attachment. Ransomware can gain access to your computer through email attachments. Never open attachments asking you to install malicious macros to view them.
It is important to keep your operating system up-to-date and all programs running. It’s like getting your booster shot for Covid vaccinations by regularly updating programs and operating systems. All your protection is null if you don’t do it. It is important that you get the most recent security patches and update your software, so cybercriminals can’t exploit any vulnerabilities in your program.
Get complete visibility
Security professionals working in retail do not have unified visibility to point of sale software processes across different locations. Security operators can identify the processes that must run on any given POS system and shut down those that are not required or suspicious. Security teams can detect, alert and stop potentially dangerous and unauthorized processes with real-time visibility.
Deploy Efficient Solutions
Customers expect fast billing for all transactions. Retail staff is constantly changing. These industry requirements are important to remember. Any security solution that you deploy should be easy to use and not impact business. It should also be invisible to the end-user. This will help reduce the cost of cyber security hygiene training your employees and ensure seamless billing.
Wrapping up
POS Software providers can be confident in their ability to provide software security monitoring services and response services that will respond quickly to any incident. This gives them peace of mind while they process countless data transactions through point-of-sale apps.
These are the most common security concerns that affect point-of-sale application providers and operators. You can be sure your POS software application is secure if you have all of these covered.