“Blaming the Victim and the PCI DSS is…Passe”- PCI DSS; GlobalPayments & Data Theft April 1, 2012
Posted by Chris Mark in Data Breach, Industry News, InfoSec & Privacy, PCI DSS, Risk & Risk Management.Tags: Chris Mark, cybersecurity, data breach, Global Payments, InfoSec, mastercard, PCI, PCI DSS, visa
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In an effort beat the “PCI Evangelists”; “wagon jumpers”, “naysayers”, and “PCI Haters” to the punch, I am publishing my post on a Sunday evening. By tomorrow morning the speculation on how the GlobalPayments compromise occurred will be in full swing and no doubt, many will have already condemned the company for “PCI DSS non compliance” or being “sick, lame, or lazy” when it comes to their PCI DSS compliance or information security. Others will have published articles condemning the PCI DSS as ‘ineffective’, ‘irrelevant’, or simply ‘stupid’.
Before they are condemned I want to go on record and say it NOT a PCI DSS compliance issue that caused the compromise. Like Heartland Payment Systems, Royal Bank of Scotland Worldpay and many more before them, GlobalPayments has been held out as the paragon of PCI DSS compliance for years. Now that they have been breached they will be expected to wear a scarlet letter for the foreseeable future. I have no doubt that by the end of next week their status as a “Level 1 PCI DSS Compliant Service Provider” will have either been revoked by the card brands or be under “review”.In the same vein, there will be many who shout from the rooftops that the PCI DSS is “irrelevant”, “outdated” and so on. Neither of these positions are accurate.
Here it goes…(drum roll please)…
The PCI DSS is a solid set of information security controls and represents minimum necessary controls to minimize the likelihood of data compromise through common, identified vulnerabilities. (more…)
What to do if your card was compromised and used… April 1, 2012
Posted by Chris Mark in Data Breach, Industry News, InfoSec & Privacy.Tags: Chris Mark, credit card theft, cybercrime, data breach, mastercard, visa, zero liability
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I have already read 5 different articles where experienced and well known security evangelists are discussing how their credit card data was exposed and how it exposed them to danger. Here are some things to understand about credit card theft and liability. First, credit card theft is NOT identity theft. Certainly, criminals can make fraudulent transactions but they cannot assume your identity to buy a boat, house, or get further credit.
Second, Under Federal law, consumers are limited to $50 for fraudulent credit card transactions. The major card brands (Visa, MC, Amex, JCB, Discover) all have “Zero” liability clauses. This means that if your card was used fraudulently…you have no liability for transaction that run over their networks. If it is a PIN based transaction (debit, for example) there are other considerations. You can read more on this post. “Signature or PIN? Credit or Debit?…the answers” If the Global Payments breach was limited to track 1 or track 2 data as reports indicate, then the PIN issue is not relevant.
Here is what you should do…
1) check your credit and debit card accounts. Debit cards can be processed as an ‘offline’ transaction which means they run over credit networks. The criminals can use them just like stolen credit cards. If you see unauthorized transactions take the next step.
2) call your issuing bank (bank listed on your card) and inform them of the fraudulent transactions. They will require you to complete an affidavit stating it was not your charge, etc. etc. If you have unauthorized charges on your bank account from the debit card being compromised, read the post here as it is a bit more complex from time to time. Understand that your bank will CANCEL the card and reissue a new card. Make sure you have taken steps to update your bills etc.
3) continue to monitor your accounts for fraudulent activity…that simple.
Hopefully this helps assuage some concerns
Global Issues Press Release Confirming Breach March 30, 2012
Posted by Chris Mark in InfoSec & Privacy, Laws and Leglslation.Tags: Chris Mark, credit card, cybercrime, cybersecurity, data breach, data security, Global Payments, mastercard, PCI DSS, visa
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Thank you to a person for pointing this out to me via LinkedIn. GlobalPayments, Inc. has issued a press release confirming it was their system that was compromised. You can read it here. They have disabled cutting and copying so here is a screenshot.
Chinese MalWare Attacks Tracked to Individual March 30, 2012
Posted by Chris Mark in Industry News, InfoSec & Privacy.Tags: Chris Mark, cybercrime, cyberespionage, cybersecurity, LuckyCat, mark consulting group, PCI DSS, security
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According to a report on Foxnews today, TrendMicro has traced a MalWare attack aimed at Tibetan activists in Japan and India to a Chinese graduate of Sichuan University. The LuckyCat campaign has been active for about a year and compromised over 230 computers in 90 separate attacks. You can read the TrendMicro report here. According to TrendMicro: “The Luckycat campaigns targets include the aerospace, military, energy, shipping and engineering industries, as well as Tibetan activists and organizations. Given its technical similarities, Luckycat is believe to be a continuation of ShadowNet, also known as GhostNet, a Chinese cybercrime campaign that has been targeting Tibetan activists as well as the Indian government since 2009, Trend Micro said.”
2012 – Another “Massive” Credit Card Breach March 30, 2012
Posted by Chris Mark in Industry News, InfoSec & Privacy.Tags: Chris Mark, data breach, fraud, InfoSec, mastercard, PCI DSS, security, visa
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According to Krebsonsecurity, the payment card industry has been wracked by yet another massive data breach. The story says that Visa and MasterCard are alerting companies to a US processor that was breached. This, according to reports, is a breach of Track1 and Track2 data. For those unfamiliar with credit cards, track1 and track 2 data is what is known as “magnetic stripe data” and is used to counterfeit cards as it contains the sensitive authentication data necessary for retail (card present) transactions. This is the most dangerous and valuable data to criminals.
As stated on the site: “In separate non-public alerts sent late last week, VISA and MasterCard began warning banks about specific cards that may have been compromised. The card associations stated that the breached credit card processor was compromised between Jan. 21, 2012 and Feb. 25, 2012.”
Global Security, Privacy, & Risk Management 