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The Achilles Heel in Retail and Hospitality Cyber SecurityREDWOOD SHORES, Calif., Sept. 3, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- iSheriff, the industry leader in cloud-based Enterprise Device Security, today released a report on Point of Sale (POS) device security and its impact in the retail & hospitality industries: Point of Sale = Point of Entry: The Achilles Heel in Retail & Hospitality Cyber Security. In this report, iSheriff compares publicly disclosed breach data to the National Retail Federation's list of top retailers, its Top 250 Global Powers of Retailing, and finds:
The US and UK are the geographies with the highest percentage of retailer breaches, with 48% breached in the US and 31% in the UK. "Cybercriminals and payment card data are like dogs and bacon, they just can't get enough. With POS devices now handling most of the payment card transactions around the world for retailers, restaurants, hotels and grocers, these systems are in the cross-hairs," commented Paul Lipman, iSheriff CEO. "Compromised POS's were the source of major data breaches at Target, Neiman Marcus, Subway and many others, and there are no signs the security risks are slowing down." In spite of large investments in security technology and top notch security personnel, retailers and hospitality firms have an Achilles Heel unique to their business – the POS device. There were close to 35 million POS terminals in use around the world in 2014, with the number of mobile POS devices in the US alone expected to reach 7.7 million by 2020, according to a study published by Research and Markets. At the simplest level, a POS device reads information off a customer's payment card, checks for sufficient funds, transfers payment, and records the transaction. To perform these oerations, a POS device combines: (i) a microprocessor; (ii) an operating system); (iii) application software, a cash register, inventory management or loyalty program application; and (iv) peripherals, including payment card readers, keypads, or printers. From a security perspective, a POS device is susceptible to the same security threats and vulnerabilities as any desktop PC or mobile laptops. However, POS devices also face three primary security vulnerabilities unique to their use and design:
Unfortunately, data breaches are likely to continue in the near term for two reasons. First, stolen card data has a limited shelf-life. Credit card companies are quick to spot anomalous spending patterns, as are observant card owners. This means that criminals need a steady supply of fresh card numbers. Second, as the number of breaches increases the availability of stolen data reduces the price it will command. The past three years have witnessed a decline in the going rate for stolen cards. In order to achieve desired economic returns, hackers are increasing the frequency and scale of their attacks. Click here to view the iSheriff white paper, Point of Sale or Point of Entry: The Achilles Heel in Retail & Hospitality Cyber Security. About iSheriff. For more information on iSheriff, please visit www.isheriff.com and follow the company on Twitter at @isheriffinc. PR CONTACT To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-achilles-heel-in-retail-and-hospitality-cyber-security-300137517.html SOURCE iSheriff |