Do I Need to Worry About POS Hacks?
Dec 24 2019
Maintaining POS–point of sale–hardware and software are critical for businesses in the 21st century. Indeed, the vast majority of customers pay using debit and credit cards, not cash. This means that your business needs an effective and reliable way to quickly authorize card payments.
But are POS systems vulnerable to security breaches and hacks? What can your business do to maximize security?
How POS Systems Are Hacked
Most POS systems that are hacked are accessed remotely. Typically, this is via the installation of a RAM scanner, also known as a POS RAM scraper. RAM scrapers are becoming increasingly sophisticated, and scrapers are the technology that has been used to target consumers at big box stores like Target and Home Depot. In order to install a RAM scraper, a hacker does not need physical access to a POS system (credit card reader); instead, RAM scraper can be installed remotely on a retailer’s network and then deployed to dozens of stores.
How You Can Protect Your POS System and Your Customers
Fortunately, there are a few things that you can do to protect your POS system and your customers’ data.
The first and most valuable thing that you can do is to switch over to POS hardware that features a secure chip reader. Unfortunately, many businesses hold that the practice of switching to a secure chip reader is too costly; however, this may be the single most important thing your business can do to protect their customers. Only about 44 percent of retail storefronts currently have chip card readers enabled.
In addition to switching over to chip readers, another thing that your business can do is to make sure that you add protection with anti-keylogger software. Additionally, customer information and all other sensitive data should be encrypted. You should also make sure that employees are well-trained on POS equipment. Employees who are well-versed in your system will be better able to detect if and when a breach has occurred.
Update Your POS System Today
At One Source pos, Inc., we offer the most up-to-date POS hardware and software on the market. If you are worried about your POS system being hacked, we can help you by offering the most secure products on the market. We also offer free training to all of your employees to ensure that your entire team understands how to run your POS system. What’s more, if there is a problem, we offer 24/7 support.
To learn more, please reach out to us today online or by phone.
