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Crime Security China

FBI Raids Chinese Point-of-Sale Giant PAX Technology (krebsonsecurity.com) 35

Posted by BeauHD from the suspicious-activity dept.
An anonymous reader quotes a report from KrebsOnSecurity: U.S. federal investigators today raided the Florida offices of PAX Technology, a Chinese provider of point-of-sale devices used by millions of businesses and retailers globally. KrebsOnSecurity has learned the raid is tied to reports that PAX's systems may have been involved in cyberattacks on U.S. and E.U. organizations. Headquartered in Shenzhen, China, PAX Technology Inc. has more than 60 million point-of-sale terminals in use throughout 120 countries. Earlier today, Jacksonville, Fla. based WOKV.com reported that agents with the FBI and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had raided a local PAX Technology warehouse. In an official statement, investigators told WOKV only that they were executing a court-authorized search at the warehouse as a part of a federal investigation, and that the inquiry included the Department of Customs and Border Protection and the Naval Criminal Investigative Services (NCIS).

Several days ago, KrebsOnSecurity heard from a trusted source that the FBI began investigating PAX after a major U.S. payment processor started asking questions about unusual network packets originating from the company's payment terminals. According to that source, the payment processor found that the PAX terminals were being used both as a malware "dropper" -- a repository for malicious files -- and as "command-and-control" locations for staging attacks and collecting information. The source said two major financial providers -- one in the United States and one in the United Kingdom -- had already begun pulling PAX terminals from their payment infrastructure, a claim that was verified by two different sources. The source was unable to share specific details about the strange network activity that prompted the FBI's investigation. But it should be noted that point-of-sale terminals and the technology that supports them are perennial targets of cybercriminals.
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FBI Raids Chinese Point-of-Sale Giant PAX Technology More

FBI Raids Chinese Point-of-Sale Giant PAX Technology

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  • But it should be noted that point-of-sale terminals and the technology that supports them are perennial targets of cybercriminals.

    Yearly check-ups on all POS terminals and support equipment.

  • Chinese are getting to deep into the usa we need to cut them off.

    • Unfortunately they keep flying in. :-D

    • Re:Chinese are getting to deep into the usa we nee (Score:5, Insightful)

      by fahrbot-bot ( 874524 ) on Tuesday October 26, 2021 @06:03PM (#61930017)

      Chinese are getting to deep into the usa we need to cut them off.

      Simple, just start with the few thing they manufacture for us and ... oh, wait.

      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        by youngone ( 975102 )
        After that you could tell the shareholders of the US corporation I work for that the nearly $1 billion in profits they get from China every year is not going to happen. They won't mind, because of human rights or something.

        • The shareholders need to go get a job like normal people.

          • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

            by youngone ( 975102 )
            Hey! They didn't inherit all that money just to have to get a job, like some sort of poor person.

          • The shareholders need to go get a job like normal people.

            Shareholders aren't just rich people w/o jobs, they include actual workers with investments, 401k/IRAs, and pensions (that they don't control), etc ...

            • Yeah, kind of, but not really [theconversation.com]

              • Yeah, kind of, but not really [theconversation.com]

                True to some extent, but... I'm a regular worker -- unix sysadmin and system programmer -- with investments, a 401k, IRA and (eventually) even a pension. My wife was a teacher (before she died in 2006) who had a 403b and would have had a pension. Shareholders can be regular people with regular jobs. Individually, they/we might not own a large percentage of shares, but we're still shareholders and investors. Some of those jobs have pensions, some of those pension funds a very big and heavily invested own

                • It's not, and a very careful look will show it's entities the public indirectly control. e.g. government. Also note that article is about four years old. There's a LOT that has happened including a world-wide pandemic.

                • Re: (Score:2)

                  by sjames ( 1099 )

                  The managers of those 401K and pension funds would do well to start dumping stocks of companies too dependent on China.

                  There are good companies in China that really want to produce a good product at a good price (in a number of cases, American companies could stand to learn a thing or three from them), but at the end of the day, they are stuck obeying the PRC and it's goals are not necessarily compatible with the well-being of American companies or their stockholders.

        • After that you could tell the shareholders of the US corporation I work for that the nearly $1 billion in profits they get from China every year is not going to happen. They won't mind, because of human rights or something.

          Just to be clear, though, the corporation you work for and all the other corporations like it which have outsourced to China give zero fucks about human rights, and are frankly morally bankrupt. They moved the jobs to a nation that uses slave labor on purpose because that provides an economic advantage. You work for slavers.

  • Chinese tech (Score:4, Informative)

    by RitchCraft ( 6454710 ) on Tuesday October 26, 2021 @06:19PM (#61930059)
    ... involved in malware! I'm shocked! Cut ties with their tech companies already for Pete's sake.

    • ... involved in malware! I'm shocked! Cut ties with their tech companies already for Pete's sake.{#`%${%&`+'${`%&NO CARRIER")

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      What's the alternative though? We know that US tech is also involved in government sponsored malware, as well as criminal malware, and generally low standards.

      Japan makes some good stuff I guess.

      • I was hoping the "maker" movement and FOSS was going to become a more popular route. About 15 years ago the two looked destined to merge and explode in popularity. All that seems to have come out of it so far are trinkets and gadgets like found on Adafruit and Sparkfun and the occasional Kickstarter success.

  • Shocked that a country which hides emissions violations from state-owned firms and conducts massive economic military technological and financial hacking espionage against the US would do such a thing!

    Aided by TFG, who let them honeycomb our intel agencies (including military).

    So, what are you going to actually do about it?

  • If Mark Harmon is on the job, then I feel quite comfortable that the perpetrators will see justice.

  • "Already on it, boss!".

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