Tips For Making POS Systems Less Vulnerable To Cyber Attacks

In just the last few years, the retail and hospitality industries have been prime targets for a multitude of cyberattacks. Point of sale (POS) systems have been particularly vulnerable, with debit and credit card readers being targeted in an effort to steal confidential financial information. While some of the most well-known victims of cyberattacks on POS systems have included Target and Home Depot, restaurant chains Chipotle, Chilis, and Applebees were also affected recently as a result of malware.

According to recent research from Symantec, the data on those POS Systems is fetching top dollar on dark net marketplaces: “Threat actors are advertising access to POS systems at prices ranging from $12 for administrative access to one POS machine, to $60,000 for access to a large corporate network containing thousands of POS servers and terminals. Meanwhile, depending on its quality, payment card data on the dark web retails for between $1 and $175 per card.”

It’s not just large businesses that are at risk. Small business owners are just as vulnerable when it comes to malware on POS systems. When such an attack occurs, it can have a significant effect on the confidence of consumers about the safety of financial information at POS terminals, eventually affecting sales.