The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) of the United Kingdom has notified the administrators of over 4,000 online retailers warning that their sites had been penetrated with Magecart attacks to steal consumers' financial information.
Malicious actors infuse scripts known as credit card skimmers (aka payment card skimmers or web skimmers) into vulnerable online stores in Magecart attacks (also known as web skimming, digital skimming, or e-Skimming) to extract and rob payment or personal information submitted by patrons at the payment page.
Eventually, the attackers would exploit this data in different financial and identity theft fraud operations, or they will auction it to the highest bidder on hacking or carding sites.
"The National Cyber Security Centre – a part of GCHQ – proactively identified 4,151 compromised online shops up to the end of September and alerted retailers to these security vulnerabilities," the UK cybersecurity agency said.
"The majority of the online shops used for skimming identified by the NCSC had been compromised via a known vulnerability in Magento, a popular e-commerce platform."
Throughout April 2020, NCSC has been monitoring these stores and has sent alerts to site operators and small and medium-sized organizations (SMEs) after finding the infected e-commerce sites through its Active Cyber Defence program.
During Black Friday and Cyber Monday affected online merchants were reminded to maintain Magento — and any other software they employ — up to date to prevent attackers from breaching their servers and compromising their online shops and customers' data.
"We want small and medium-sized online retailers to know how to prevent their sites from being exploited by opportunistic cybercriminals over the peak shopping period," said Sarah Lyons, NCSC Deputy Director for Economy and Society.
"It's important to keep websites as secure as possible and I would urge all business owners to follow our guidance and make sure their software is up to date." She added.
The organization also advises individuals and families who would like to buy online securely, to only purchase from trusted online retailers, utilize credit cards for online payments, and always be on the lookout for suspicious emails and text messages featuring offers that appear too good to be true.
The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) also issued security guidelines for staying safe while buying online.
"On Black Friday and Cyber Monday the hackers will be out to steal shoppers' cash and damage the reputations of businesses by making their websites into cyber traps," said Steve Barclay, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.
"It's critical, with more and more trade moving online, to protect your business and your customers by following the guidance provided by the National Cyber Security Centre and British Retail Consortium."
