Oracle’s point-of-sale terminal’s support website, MICROS, which you all have
undoubtedly used, was hacked by a Russian cybergang recently.
The breach is believed to have begun with a single system in Oracle’s network and spread through a ticketing portal which MICROS uses to assist customers.
As of now, the amount of damage is not known, and the date of the initial breach is unknown as well, but it does appear that hackers were unable to access users’ credit or debit card information.
However, it looks like hackers would have had access to all usernames and passwords for anyone who had logged on to MICROS’ site after the bug was placed on the site. Oracle has suggested all users change their login information immediately. With MICROS being one of the top point-of-sale systems in the market with over 330,000 retailers using their product, it is highly likely that if you are reading this, you were affected.
The gang referred to as Carbanak Gang, who is responsible for stealing over $1 billion from retailers, the hospitality industry and banks over the past few years is the prime suspect in the Oracle breach. With results like this, it is extremely doubtful their days of hacking are going to be ending anytime soon.
What Can You Do to Protect Yourself?
Unfortunately, in a breach like this one, not much. I always recommend that if you cannot pay with cash it is wiser to pay with a credit card over a debit card. A debit card carries more liability to a victim than a credit card does.
A lost or stolen debit card reported within two days carries a $50 liability for a victim,
within sixty days $500, and after 60 days there is no protection in place.
Many credit card companies offer no liability for all fraudulent transactions while the maximum liabilityon any credit card is only $50.
The biggest difference between the two is that for any fraudulent debit card purchase that money is removed from your account, and you have to battle the provider to get
your money back, while with the credit card no money is withdrawn from your account and you can dispute any charges.
Free credit monitoring is available from companies like
Credit Sesame,
Credit Karma, and
WalletHub. These sites offer credit scores, credit reports, and most important to this discussion, 24/7 monitoring. When abnormalities in spending occur, you will be notified.
The key to it all is this - if you are going to use your cards, make sure you are checking your accounts frequently to make sure no fraudulent purchase are being made.