General News
UPS Falls Victim of PoS Malware
United Parcel Service (UPS), a shipping and courier giant, has confirmed a long-running data breach at 51 of its UPS Stores, across 24 states in the United States.
While the number of affected stores accounted for only total about 1% of its more than 4,400 locations, as many as 105,000 customer transactions may have been compromised thanks to the sheer length of the malware infection: it ran between January and August of this year.
According to reports by InfoSecurity, the thieves are believed to have made off with names, postal addresses, email addresses and credit- and debit-card data.
Worryingly, the government alerted the company to the malware—UPS’ own systems did not detect it. UPS has since hired a security firm to review and upgrade its systems.
“As soon as we became aware of the potential malware intrusion, we deployed extensive resources to quickly address and eliminate this issue. Our customers can be assured that we have identified and fully contained the incident,” said Tim Davis, president of the UPS Store subsidiary, in a statement.
However, the inability to catch the issue is, well, an issue. “The first malware infection recorded by UPS was on January 20, 2014 and lasted until August,” said Joshua Cannell, malware intelligence analyst at Malwarebytes Labs, in a comment to InfoSecurity Magazine.
“In order to avoid detection for such a long period, a custom and highly-targeted piece of malware must have been used, as most traditional malware wouldn’t survive a week without being detected by antivirus and anti-malware vendors. This type of malware is often produced by well-funded groups that carefully plan their attack by surveying weakness in the target and then building malware to exploit them.”
Also, the locations each run on independent private networks that are walled off from the corporate network, UPS said.
This is the cause of some consternation—in previous breaches, the hackers were able to use a third-party contractor, unwitting insiders or some other means to enter the main network, and install PoS scraping software at individual locations from there. Clearly, the cybercriminals’ operation is evolving.
“This shows that sophistication of IT isn’t an inoculation against a breach,” said Steve Hultquist, chief evangelist at RedSeal Networks.
“The combination of complexity and continuous change–including both growth and technological advancement–mean that it’s virtually impossible to be aware of all the potential paths of attack. It is critical for all enterprises to deploy not only reactive security analysis but also to use a cyber-attack prevention system to analyze their entire network as it is actually implemented to anticipate all potential paths and to provide guidance in plugging inappropriate holes. The situation will continue to expand and become more broad. Enterprises must take action to avoid being the next casualties.”
Overall, PoS breaches seem to be reaching epidemic levels, with a string of incidents dating back to last Thanksgiving hitting household name retailers: Supervalu grocery stores, Target, Neiman Marcus, PF Changs, and on and on.
The New York Times cited a government source in reporting that the same group of Eastern European criminals are behind several of them.
Researchers had an air of exasperation in commenting on the incident. “How many more point of sale breaches need to occur industry-wide before consumers rise up and start demanding proactive protection surrounding their personal information prior to the purchasing of goods and services from a company?” Kyle Kennedy, CTO of STEALTHbits Technologies, told Infosecurity.
“Is it time for a third-party service provider focused solely on financial transactions and securing the consumer’s personal information the answer for the consumer AND the retailer? Or is the risk of personal information potentially being breached so accepted by consumers that change isn’t possible? I refuse to believe, as a consumer and a security executive, that change isn’t possible around one of the most fundamental components of business – the buying of goods and services via credit cards.”
Eric Chiu, president & co-founder of HyTrust, suggested that in the meantime, consumers need to be hyperaware of how they’re using their cards.
“Major breaches are being reported weekly, sometimes daily,” he said in an email. “Attackers are using sophisticated attacks to either compromise PoS systems at physical stores or branches as well as gaining access to corporate networks to siphon off millions of customer records in centralized systems in the core of the data center. Consumers need to…be careful who they do business with and what information they share on the Internet as well as keep an eye on their finances to identify if they might be a victim of a recent breach.”
United Bank for Africa (UBA) celebrated its 75th anniversary during its 65th Annual General Meeting, highlighting decades of resilience, innovation, and commitment to service.
Mr. Tony Elumelu, Group Chairman, reflected on the bank’s journey, emphasizing its ability to adapt and transform over three-quarters of a century.
He announced UBA’s impressive financial performance for 2024, including a gross revenue of ₦3.2 trillion and profit after tax of ₦767 billion.
The bank’s total deposits grew by 42% to ₦24.6 trillion, while its loan book expanded by 35% to ₦7.5 trillion.
Mr. Elumelu also addressed UBA’s efforts to meet the Central Bank of Nigeria’s directive to increase the minimum capital requirement for international commercial banks.
Following a successful rights issue, UBA’s capital now stands at ₦355.2 billion, with plans to raise the remaining ₦144.8 billion later this year.
GMD/CEO, Mr. Oliver Alawuba, reiterated UBA’s commitment to enhancing customer experience through digital banking.
He highlighted the bank’s focus on leveraging artificial intelligence and advanced technology to serve its 45 million customers across 24 countries more effectively.
UBA’s dedication to environmental stewardship and social progress was evident in its 2024 initiatives, including planting 4,550 seedlings to offset carbon emissions and distributing over 13,000 books through the Read Africa Initiative.
The bank’s efforts were recognized with multiple awards, including “Bank of the Year” in five African countries.
As UBA continues its journey, Mr. Elumelu and Mr. Alawuba expressed gratitude to shareholders, customers, staff, and regulators for their unwavering support.
The bank remains committed to innovation, financial inclusion, and driving economic growth across Africa and the globe.
Sextortion scams have become so widespread that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is sending agents to Nigeria to help track down the perpetrators.
The agency’s “Operation Artemis” has led to the arrest of 22 Nigerians, half of whom are “directly linked” to sextortion incidents in which victims died by suicide.
Sextortion scams often begin on social media, where perpetrators pose as attractive young women to lure victims—typically unsuspecting teenage boys—into sending nude photos or explicit videos.
Once the images are obtained, the scammers turn to blackmail, threatening to leak the content unless the victim pays up.
In some cases, the sextortion results in teenage victims taking their own lives over fear of the nudes leaking.
In Thursday’s announcement, the FBI noted it’s been “observing a significant increase over the last three years in financially motivated sextortion schemes targeting young males ages 14-17, resulting in more than 20 minor victims dying by suicide.”
The agency is also facing a 30% year-over-year increase in sextortion-related tips.
“According to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center or IC3, there were over 54,000 [extortion-related] victims in 2024, up from 34,000 in 2023,” it said.
“Over the last two years there have been nearly $65 million dollars in financial losses due to this crime.”
In response, the FBI says 55 agency field offices came together to identify “nearly 3,000 victims of financially motivated sextortion,” which led investigators to track down the culprits in Nigeria.
The US has since extradited at least three suspects from Nigeria.
“These subjects will now be held accountable in the American justice system, with more subjects still awaiting extraditions in Nigeria,” the FBI added.
FBNQuest Trustees Limited, a subsidiary of First HoldCo Plc, provider of trust solutions to individuals, corporate and government institutions, recently hosted its inaugural Estate Planning Summit in Port Harcourt.
The maiden event, themed: Wealth Preservation and Transfer without Hassle, was organised to strategically enlighten and empower the participants with the necessary knowledge required to seamlessly manage and successfully transfer their assets and legacies to their beneficiaries.
Speaking at the event, the Acting Managing Director, FBNQuest Trustees, Babajide Fetuga, stressed the critical importance of seeking professional guidance on estate planning, preservation and transfer of wealth to successive generations and other beneficiaries. He stated that a professionally drafted estate plan gives no room for any form of ambiguity; hence, it provides clear directives on what to do at any time.
‘’The potential consequences of not having an estate plan include perennial family disputes and protracted court cases, which may result in a huge financial burden and foster long-lasting resentments among loved ones if proactive steps are not undertaken to protect individuals, families and loved ones from avoidable stress.
‘’Understanding the values of wealth preservation is crucial. It is vital to recognize the importance of having a strategic estate planning blueprint, and we are determined to educate you with knowledge that not only informs but inspires you to take the necessary actions as you move forward,” he added.
FBNQuest Trustees is dedicated to promoting effective estate planning solutions. The company has a track record of successfully hosting estate planning summits in Abuja, Lagos, Minna and Ibadan and continues to emphasize the importance of thoughtful planning through initiatives like the Legacy Series Campaign and the Legacy Room podcast.
The summit featured industry experts who delivered valuable insights on the significance of wealth preservation and transfer, addressing the residents of Port Harcourt and its environs. The discussions focused on practical approaches and proactive measures attendees can adopt to manage their estates effectively and minimize potential future challenges.
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