Busy 2015 predicted for retail hacking as enhanced credit card security looms
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Retailers can expect a continued influx of payment breaches from cyber hackers in the near term as enhanced credit card technology is introduced, says Experian Data Breach Resolution in its predictions for 2015.
EMV technology — chips embedded in credit cards to make them more secure — must be introduced in the United States by October 2015, the deadline set by the major credit card companies, which gives hackers a limited time to profit from point-of-sale attacks at brick-and-mortar retailers, according to Experian, a unit of Cost Mesa, California-based Experian Information Solutions Inc.
In the interim, larger retailers will continue to take steps to strengthen their systems to be less vulnerable to attacks, but “attackers may look for new ways to compromise these companies given how profitable the payoff can be,” says the report.
Furthermore, cyber thieves have likely already identified vulnerabilities in the new infrastructure, while consumers “could easily get a false sense of security,” says the report.
Other Experian predictions include:
• More hackers will target cloud data as more information is stored there.
• There will be a persistent and growing threat of health care breaches.
• Where previously information technology departments were responsible for explaining security incidents, business leaders will come under increased scrutiny for these incidents.
• Employee mistakes will be companies' biggest threat.
• There will be a rise in third-party breaches via the “Internet of things,” in which everyday objects have network connectivity.
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