14 DAY TRIAL // A vending machine supplier recently discovered a breach in their network which affected machines in a couple of resorts from December 2008 and up until recently.
According to NetworkWorld, the company called Vacationland Vendors did not reveal the exact moment when or how the breach was discovered and it is unknown so far if the potential victims were notified.
The official statement reports “that an unauthorized person wrongfully accessed certain parts of the point of sales systems that Vacationland Vendors uses to process credit and debit transactions at the Wilderness Resorts. Based upon its investigation to date, Vacationland Vendors reasonably believes that a computer hacker improperly acquired credit card and debit information.
“This incident did not involve an internal security issue within the Wilderness Resort. Vacationland Vendors has learned that other businesses just like its’ own have been affected by this computer hacker.”
The same statement informs people who might have used their credit or debit cards at the Wilderness Resort locations from December 12, 2008 through May 25, 2011, to consider taking immediate measures in order to prevent any later unpleasant situations.
These types of attacks usually involve spying software that is used to intercept data from the card while it communicates with the bank to obtain the authorization for the transaction.
Incidents in the past years have increased the necessity for more comprehensive encryption solutions in the case of payments which involve credit cards.
Now we'll wait and see how many of the alleged 40,000 exposed people will come forward to claim their losses from the vending machine company and only then the true proportions of the disaster will be revealed.
Even though they assure people that all their systems are completely secure at this time, it's disturbing to know that for more than two years the issue remained undetected by company staff members.