A nasty piece of malware is being blamed for a recent breach that compromised tens of thousands of credit card numbers. It is the same malware that was behind the massive breach at Target just a few months ago.

Malware Infects 1000’s of Business Computers, Steal Payment Info

A nasty piece of malware is being blamed for a recent breach that compromised tens of thousands of credit card numbers. It is the same malware that was behind the massive breach at Target just a few months ago.

The United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team [US-CERT], a cyber-security division under the Department of Homeland Security, issued an alert to business that use Point-of-Sale cash register systems of a piece of malware called “Backoff” which targets those system and steals credit card data.

“Backoff” is the same malware that was behind the massive Target data breach wich compromised hundreds of the thousands of credit cards.

Last week many Lubavitchers took to social media and reported unauthorized charges on their credit cards. Those posts quickly began ascribing blame to various business as the ones responsible for the breach.

The US-CERT issued the following statement:

US-CERT is aware of Backoff malware compromising a significant number of major enterprise networks as well as small and medium businesses.

US-CERT encourages administrators and operators of Point-of-Sale systems to review the Backoff malware alert to help determine if your network may be affected.

Organizations that believe they have been infected with Backoff are also encouraged to contact their local US Secret Service Field Office.

Based on the wide spread and far reaching breach, it is more than likely that one or more businesses that Lubavitchers frequent has been breached. Consumers should take extra care and examine their bank and credit card statements for fraudulent charges and report them immediately.

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