Backoff is a kind of
malware
Malware (a portmanteau for ''malicious software'') is any software intentionally designed to cause disruption to a computer, server, client, or computer network, leak private information, gain unauthorized access to information or systems, depri ...
that targets
point of sale
The point of sale (POS) or point of purchase (POP) is the time and place at which a retail transaction is completed. At the point of sale, the merchant calculates the amount owed by the customer, indicates that amount, may prepare an invoice f ...
(POS) systems. It is used to steal
credit card data from point of sale machines at
retail stores.
Cybercriminals use Backoff to gather data from credit cards. It is installed via remote desktop type applications where POS systems are configured. It belongs to the
POS malware family as it is known to
scrape the memory of POS devices.
Operation
Backoff malware injects the malicious stub into the
explorer.exe
File Explorer, previously known as Windows Explorer, is a file manager application that is included with releases of the Microsoft Windows operating system from Windows 95 onwards. It provides a graphical user interface for accessing the file ...
file to gain access to the POS machines and it scrapes the victim's machine memory from running the
processes. It searches this memory for leftover credit card data after a payment card has been swiped. Cybercriminals have mutated different variants of Backoff while some of the variants are equipped with
keylogging
Keystroke logging, often referred to as keylogging or keyboard capturing, is the action of recording (logging) the keys struck on a keyboard, typically covertly, so that a person using the keyboard is unaware that their actions are being monitored ...
functionality. Some of the Backoff variants have C2 component which helps the malware to upload the victim's personal data, download the malware onto the victim POS machine and to uninstall the malware.
Incidents
Backoff Malware was aggressive and about 16.2% been infected in the third quarter of 2014. The survey by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) states that thousands of businesses have been infected by Backoff POS Malware.
Network security company
Damballa records a 57 percent infection increase from Backoff malware during August 2014.
Big companies like Home Depot, Target and Dairy Queen suffered from Backoff infection and many more smaller companies may be infected.
See also
*
Cyber electronic warfare
Cyber may refer to:
Computing and the Internet
* ''Cyber-'', from cybernetics, a transdisciplinary approach for exploring regulatory and purposive systems
Crime and security
* Cyber crime, crime that involves computers and networks
** Conventio ...
*
Cyber security standards
*
Cyber warfare
*
List of cyber attack threat trends
A cyberattack is any offensive maneuver that targets computer information systems, computer networks, infrastructures, or personal computer devices. An attacker is a person or process that attempts to access data, functions, or other restricted ...
*
Proactive Cyber Defence
References
{{Software distribution
2014 in computing
Computer viruses
Cyberwarfare
Banking technology