Weekly News Roundup: October 25, 2013

Some news highlights from around the world this week including a major card fraud incident in South Africa, a firsthand look at ransomware, and a skimming attack on Nordstrom’s cash registers in Florida.

Bloomberg – South Africa Banks Hit by Fast-Food Restaurant Card Fraud – South Africa’s banks have lost tens of millions of rand after an “unauthorized international organization” hacked the card details of fast food restaurant customers, according to the Payments Association of South Africa. The breach has affected several well-known restaurant chains, including KFC, Wimpy and Debonairs Pizza. The attackers appear to have infected payments servers with a variant of the well-known Dexter malware. Reports indicate that every single bank in South Africa has been impacted to some degree by the breach.

Naked Security (Sophos Blog) – CryptoLocker ransomware – see how it works – Ransomware seems to be on the rise around the world, and in Australia and New Zealand in particular. Ever wonder how that nasty stuff actually works? You can have a look at CryptoLocker, an especially virulent strain, in the embedded video from the Sophos team.

Krebs on Security – Nordstrom Finds Cash Register Skimmers – Nordstrom, a major department store retailer in the US, has reported finding six skimming devices attached to POS systems at a store in Florida. The devices were essentially key loggers created inside PS2 connectors and inserted between the terminal and a computer (photos at the link above). A Nordstrom spokesperson said the incident is believed to be limited to one store location, and no arrests have yet been made. The investigation continues.