Retail store malware pinpointed in holiday hacking attacks
A private company revealed Thursday how, apparently, hackers were able to hit Target at the height of the holiday shopping season. Forty million credit and debit card accounts were compromised and as many as 70 million customers had their personal information stolen.
The private security firm iSight
Partners reports that computer hackers are using a type of malware, or
malicious software called KAPTOXA to steal credit card information where
customers swipe or enter their credit card information.
Tiffany Jones, vice president of iSight
Partners spoke to CBS News by phone. She said, “What's unique about it is, it's
the first time we've seen this attack at this scale and sophistication in terms
of the overall operation of cyber criminals.”
In a separate report, the Department of Homeland Security released a set of technical instructions alerting the nation’s retailers how to detect and stop this malware, but officials are concerned some retail chains are still under attack and don't know.