The inexorable rise of cybercrime has made it a risky time to be running a business that depends on the internet. When that business is dealing with payments, brokering financial transactions for potentially millions of customers, the stakes are even higher.
One cyber attack in July, targeting a global network of payments terminals using software supplied by US firm Kaseya, amply illustrates the risks facing the sector. It was mounted by a hacking gang using a ransomware strain known as REvil.
In the statement it made after the attack, Kaseya reported that only 60 of its customers were affected – which, while correct, demonstrates the concentration of power in the payments industry. Those 60 customers were supporting about 1,500 other businesses, which were rendered incapable of taking payments.