{"id":6287,"date":"2014-08-25T12:17:46","date_gmt":"2014-08-25T16:17:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.nccomputertech.com\/?p=6287"},"modified":"2014-08-25T12:17:46","modified_gmt":"2014-08-25T16:17:46","slug":"us-warns-significant-number-of-major-businesses-hit-by-backoff-malware","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2014\/08\/25\/us-warns-significant-number-of-major-businesses-hit-by-backoff-malware\/","title":{"rendered":"US warns &#8216;significant number&#8217; of major businesses hit by Backoff malware"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align:center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pcworld.com\/article\/2598140\/us-warns-significant-number-of-major-businesses-hit-by-backoff-malware.html\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/credit_cards_generic-100220719-large.jpg\" alt='' \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Over a thousand major enterprise networks and small and medium businesses in the U.S. have been compromised by a recently discovered malware package called \u201cBackoff\u201d and are probably unaware of it, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a cybersecurity alert on Friday.<\/p>\n<p>Backoff first appeared in October 2013 and is capable of scraping the memory contents of point of sales systems\u2014industry speak for cash registers and other terminals used at store checkouts\u2014for data swiped from credit cards, from monitoring the keyboard and logging keystrokes, from communicating with a remote server.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOver the past year, the Secret Service has responded to network intrusions at numerous businesses throughout the United States that have been impacted by the \u201cBackoff\u201d malware,\u201d the alert said. \u201cSeven PoS system providers\/vendors have confirmed that they have had multiple clients affected.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The malware is thought to be responsible for the recent data breaches at Target, SuperValu supermarkets and UPS stores, and the Secret Service is still learning of new infections.<\/p>\n<p>DHS first warned of Backoff in late July, when it noted the malware was not detectable my most antivirus software. That made it particularly difficult to stop, because much of the fight against computer viruses and malware rests on antivirus applications.<\/p>\n<p>Most antivirus packages now detect Backoff, but DHS is advising network operators take immediate action to ensure they haven\u2019t been affected.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDHS strongly recommends actively contacting your IT team, antivirus vendor, managed service provider, and\/or point of sale system vendor to assess whether your assets may be vulnerable and\/or compromised,\u201d it said. \u201cThe Secret Service is active in contacting impacted businesses, as they are identified, and continues to work with and support those businesses that have been impacted by this PoS malware.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In many cases, hackers gained access to machines through brute-force attacks on remote log-in systems offered through companies like Microsoft, Apple, Google and other third-party vendors. Once inside, they were able to copy the malware to the machine and set it capturing credit card data.<\/p>\n<p>The DHS asked that instances of it are reported to a local Secret Service field office.<\/p>\n<p>The Target data breach was one of the largest in recent memory, resulting in tens of millions of credit and debit cards being compromised. In the last couple of weeks, SuperValu said that at least 180 of its stores had been hit by a data breach and earlier this week UPS said 51 of it UPS Store locations had been hit.<\/p>\n<p>via <a href=\"http:\/\/www.pcworld.com\/article\/2598140\/us-warns-significant-number-of-major-businesses-hit-by-backoff-malware.html\" target=\"_blank\">US warns &#8216;significant number&#8217; of major businesses hit by Backoff malware | PCWorld<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Over a thousand major enterprise networks and small and medium businesses in the U.S. have been compromised by a recently [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[7,9,10],"tags":[342,655,1177],"class_list":["post-6287","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-security","category-software","category-technology","tag-exploits","tag-malware","tag-vulnerabilities"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/papNkV-1Dp","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":9930,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2025\/05\/16\/fbi-says-toss-your-old-router\/","url_meta":{"origin":6287,"position":0},"title":"FBI Says Toss Your Old Router","author":"NCCT","date":"May 16, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/scR199zRjvA On Security Now, Steve talks about the FBI's suggestion that we should be tossing out our old routers.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Security&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Security","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/security\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/scR199zRjvA\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9655,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2021\/03\/09\/fuquay-varina-and-holly-springs-computer-repair\/","url_meta":{"origin":6287,"position":1},"title":"Fuquay Varina and Holly Springs Computer Repair","author":"NCCT","date":"March 9, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Welcome to our blog. NC Computer Tech services Fuquay Varina, Holly Springs, and surrounding NC areas. We offer prompt, professional, courteous service with over twenty years of experience dealing with residential and small business clients offering them solutions and fixing their computer and network issues at reasonable rates. Our services\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Technology&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Technology","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/technology\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9450,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2018\/11\/20\/are-passwords-immortal-security-now-690\/","url_meta":{"origin":6287,"position":2},"title":"Are Passwords Immortal? &#8211; Security Now 690","author":"NCCT","date":"November 20, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/mOSTtkK7vy0 Pwn2Own, the Future of Passwords. -- All the action at last week's Pwn2Own Mobile hacking contest -- The final word on processor mis-design in the Meltdown\/Spectre era -- A workable solution for unsupported Intel firmware upgrades for hostile environments -- A forthcoming Firefox breach alert feature -- The expected\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Security&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Security","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/security\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/mOSTtkK7vy0\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9890,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2024\/12\/08\/49-years-of-video-game-consoles-in-10-minutes\/","url_meta":{"origin":6287,"position":3},"title":"49 Years Of Video Game Consoles in 10 Minutes","author":"NCCT","date":"December 8, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/27_xEN5srVI Believe it or not, the home video game console has been around for nearly 49 years. Yes, that\u2019s almost half a century. Since 1972, we\u2019ve seen over 30 consoles created and sold in North America, which is a ridiculous amount of consoles. That\u2019s an average of more than one\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Hardware&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Hardware","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/hardware\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/27_xEN5srVI\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9378,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2018\/07\/13\/smart-home-security-tips\/","url_meta":{"origin":6287,"position":4},"title":"Smart Home Security Tips","author":"NCCT","date":"July 13, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/ESqqAf3IGok Megan Morrone and Florence Ion talk to Stacey Higginbotham about tips for securing your smart home. The advantages and disadvantages of running devices on a guest network. Plus, how do you know if your devices are getting regular firmware updates.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Networking&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Networking","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/networking\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/ESqqAf3IGok\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9518,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2019\/02\/10\/between-the-buns-this-week-in-tech-705\/","url_meta":{"origin":6287,"position":5},"title":"Between the Buns &#8211; This Week in Tech 705","author":"NCCT","date":"February 10, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/KZ52Am221no Improving government websites, blocking the big five, Spotify\u2019s podcast move, and more. -- Alphabet Earnings: Google's Cost Per Click -- Cutting out Google, Apple, Amazon, Facebook, and Microsoft -- The US to Ban Huawei 5GTech -- Germany Outlaws Facebook's Business Model -- What if Google Just Doesn't Pay Its\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Apple&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Apple","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/apple\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/KZ52Am221no\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6287","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6287"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6287\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6287"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6287"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6287"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}