Security On Point

FOR THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS, POINT OF SALE (POS) SYSTEMS HAVE BEEN A PRIME TARGET FOR CYBER-ATTACKS, MAKING IT MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER FOR RETAILERS TO CONSIDER THE SECURITY OF THESE MACHINES AND THE INFORMATION THEY STORE.

- Rajesh Gopinath, Nicolai Solling

There are few things more embarrassing to a company than being forced to admit that customer payment information has been stolen.

It is a situation that many organizations, among them the hotel group Starwood, have faced.

Back in 2014, the company, which is now owned by Marriott, had its point of sale (POS) systems hacked, a breach that lasted until 2015 and affected scores of Westin and Sheraton properties.

Among the other companies to have been hit in a similar way is a United States-based Italian restaurant chain called B&B Hospitality Group, which midway through last year reported POSrelated breaches at nine of its outlets.

The blame was placed on malware-infected POS devices that allowed customers’ card data to be stolen.

The use of malware is typical in hacks aimed at securing card information, according to Rajesh Gopinath, the Dubai-based vice president sales engineering (cybersecurity) the Middle East and Africa for the cybersecurity and information security company Paladion.

While this type of attack is more common in North America and Europe than in the Middle East, this part of the world is not immune.

“It’s not uncommon for these attacks to happen in other regions like the Middle East. There have been many cases in the past where attacks have happened,” he says.

Nicolai Solling, the Dubai-based chief technology officer for the cybersecurity consultancy Help AG, says that point-of sale security is “definitely” a field that many companies are focused on.

He works with a number of large retail chains in the region who are trying to ensure that their systems are not vulnerable to attack.

“All of these ones I’m working with, they have problems around how they secure their point-of-sale systems. That’s a good thing, to see they’re investing money in it,” he says.