A user on Gitlab has found that online card skimming has gone up 69% since November last year and multiple groups are involved in a card skimming operation targeting 5900 online stores.
According to user gwillem on Gitlab, over 5,900 e-commerce sites have fallen victim to malware that skims victims' credit card details online.
What can online retailers do to keep hackers away from websites?
“The one thing that keeps cropping up in all these scenarios is updates; companies are still not doing enough to ensure their software is up-to-date.
“It’s the most basic rule of security, someone has already done the hard work and found the exploit or flaw, someone has even then spent a lot of hard work fixing the problem for you, all you need to do is install the update, or upgrade the software.
“Yes of course there may be a cost, but the cost to the end user is so much higher if you don’t do that, not to mention the damage caused by breaches or data loss and the relative PR that goes with it.
“The public are getting used to data breaches that sadly seem to happen on a daily basis, and to a degree also understand how hard it is to protect against insider threats or targeted attacks from very resourceful individuals.
“However, when the breach happens because you never updated your software or applied a patch, that in some cases is months or even years old, then that’s just unacceptable!
What should customers do to prevent themselves falling victim to this kind of scam?
“Sadly, apart from spending the time to research websites that may be affected there’s not a lot the customer can do to stop it happening.
“Keeping an eye on your financial statements is a good indicator of something amiss, and making sure you keep your software updated using the latest operating systems.
“Ensuring a good regular updating internet security product is installed will help to warn you of potentially dangerous websites and your browser will help too. Making the right choice of web browser could make a big difference, as some have features that will check for compromised sites and warn you accordingly.
Have you ever been the victim of online card skimming? Let us know on Twitter @ESETUK
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