FBI left with crumbs from sandwich restaurant hack

The FBI is warning about a new strain of malware after a restaurant’s credit card system was hacked across a number of regions in the U.S.

Jimmy John’s, the chain specialising in gourmet sandwiches, was among the names mentioned when referring to a hacking incident intended to steal financial data from customers.

Cyber investigators from the FBI found familiar software signatures related to malware used in certain POS systems, which goes by the name of ‘Punkey’. The unusual name comes from Punky Brewster; a U.S. sitcom from the 1980s.

An alert from the FBI, which is called a Flash notice, claims that there is a rise in resorts, hotels, casinos and restaurants infected with POS malware. Further, the agency claimed that today’s hackers break into networks in order to steal credit card data and profit from it within forums for cyber criminals.

TK Keanini from security analytics firm Lancope said that it is clear that these POS systems were developed without such a threat in mind, stating:

“Let’s all be aware of this and retrofit what we can today and as we face a future of the Internet of things, so that we learn from these oversights and take into account modern threat modelling.”

Most SMEs that have been victim of a cyber crime, don’t have the benefit of the FBI investigating their issue. However, they do have a chance to help not only prevent such issues, but limit the damage of any hacking incidents should they occur. By posting and filling cyber security jobs, they are taking a significant step towards protecting theirs, and their customers’, data.