The Prophetic Messenger
A Newsletter From Mysteries From The Word Of God Ministries
July/August 2014 - Volume 16/Issue 4
Name Change For Mark of The Beast Technology - Part IV
16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: 17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. 18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six. Revelation 13:16-18
In this issue of The Prophetic Messenger, we will continue a message titled “Name Change For Mark of The Beast Technology”
In this issue of The Prophetic Messenger, we will continue a message titled “Name Change For Mark of The Beast Technology”
1. Future Plans
a) Chip and Pin Credit Card
The recent breaches to the credit card processing systems at major corporations in the United States has provided the perfect opportunity to upgrade to a new type of credit card system called chip and pin or the emv chip. In an article titled “Missed Alarms and 40 Million Stolen Credit Card Numbers: How Target Blew It”(Note 1) it says
“The biggest retail hack in U.S. history wasn’t particularly inventive, nor did it appear destined for success. In the days prior to Thanksgiving 2013, someone installed malware in Target’s (TGT) security and payments system designed to steal every credit card used at the company’s 1,797 U.S. stores. At the critical moment— when the Christmas gifts had been scanned and bagged and the cashier asked for a swipe—the malware would step in, capture the shopper’s credit card number, and store it on a Target server commandeered by the hackers. ... It’s a measure of how common these crimes have become, and how conventional the hackers’ approach in this case, that Target was prepared for such an attack. Six months earlier the company began installing a $1.6 million malware detection tool made by the computer security firm FireEye (FEYE), whose customers also include the CIA and the Pentagon. Target had a team of security specialists in Bangalore to monitor its computers around the clock. If Bangalore noticed anything suspicious, Target’s security operations center in Minneapolis would be notified. On Saturday, Nov. 30, the hackers had set their traps and had just one thing to do before starting the attack: plan the data’s escape route. As they uploaded exfiltration malware to move stolen credit card numbers—first to staging points spread around the U.S. to cover their tracks, then into their computers in Russia—FireEye spotted them. Bangalore got an alert and flagged the security team in Minneapolis. And then … Nothing happened. For some reason, Minneapolis didn’t react to the sirens. Bloomberg Businessweek spoke to more than 10 former Target employees familiar with the company’s data security operation, as well as eight people with specific knowledge of the hack and its aftermath, including former employees, security researchers, and law enforcement officials. The story they tell is of an alert system, installed to protect the bond between retailer and customer, that worked beautifully. But then, Target stood by as 40 million credit card numbers—and 70 million addresses, phone numbers, and other pieces of personal information—gushed out of its mainframes. When asked to respond to a list of specific questions about the incident and the company’s lack of an immediate response to it, Target Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer Gregg Steinhafel issued an e-mailed statement: “Target was certified as meeting the standard for the payment card industry (PCI) in September 2013. Nonetheless, we suffered a data breach. As a result, we are conducting an end-to-end review of our people, processes and technology to understand our opportunities to improve data security and are committed to learning from this experience. While we are still in the midst of an ongoing investigation, we have already taken significant steps, including beginning the overhaul of our information security structure and the acceleration of our transition to chip-enabled cards. However, as the investigation is not complete, we don’t believe it’s constructive to engage in speculation without the benefit of the final analysis. . . . . In testimony before Congress, Target has said that it was only after the U.S. Department of Justice notified the retailer about the breach in mid-December that company investigators went back to figure out what happened. What it hasn’t publicly revealed: Poring over computer logs, Target found FireEye’s alerts from Nov. 30 and more from Dec. 2, when hackers installed yet another version of the malware. Not only should those alarms have been impossible to miss, they went off early enough that the hackers hadn’t begun transmitting the stolen card data out of Target’s network. Had the company’s security team responded when it was supposed to, the theft that has since engulfed Target, touched as many as one in three American consumers, and led to an international manhunt for the hackers never would have happened at all.”
Notice that Target found two alerts which could have stopped the hackers from stealing any credit card data.
In another article titled “3 Million Customer Credit, Debit Cards Stolen in Michaels, Aaron Brothers Breaches”(Note 2) it says
“Nationwide arts and crafts chain Michaels Stores Inc. said today that two separate eight-month-long security breaches at its stores last year may have exposed as many as 3 million customer credit and debit cards. The disclosure, made jointly in a press release posted online and in a statement on the company’s Web site, offers the first real details about the breach since the incident was first disclosed by KrebsOnSecurity on January 25, 2014. The statements by Irving, Texas-based Michaels suggest that the two independent security firms it hired to investigate the break-ins initially found nothing. ‘After weeks of analysis, the Company discovered evidence confirming that systems of Michaels stores in the United States and its subsidiary, Aaron Brothers, were attacked by criminals using highly sophisticated malware that had not been encountered previously by either of the security firms,’ the statement reads. The Michaels breach first came to light just weeks after retail giant Target Corp. said that cyber thieves planted malware on cash registers at its stores across the nation, stealing more than 40 million credit and debit card numbers between Nov. 27 and Dec. 15, 2013. That malware was designed to siphon card data when customers swiped their cards at the cash register. According to Michaels, the affected systems contained certain payment card information, such as payment card number and expiration date, about both Michaels and Aaron Brothers customers. The company says there is no evidence that other customer personal information, such as name, address or debit card PIN, was at risk in connection with this issue. The company’s statement says the attack on Michaels’ targeted ‘a limited portion of the point-of-sale systems at a varying number of stores between May 8, 2013 and January 27, 2014.’ ‘Only a small percentage of payment cards used in the affected stores during the times of exposure were impacted by this issue,’ the statement continues. ‘The analysis conducted by the security firms and the Company shows that approximately 2.6 million cards may have been impacted, which represents about 7% of payment cards used at Michaels stores in the U.S. during the relevant time period. The locations and potential dates of exposure for each affected Michaels store are listed on www.michaels.com.’ Regarding Aaron Brothers, Michaels Stores said it has confirmed that between June 26, 2013 and February 27, 2014, 54 Aaron Brothers stores were affected by this malware, noting that the locations for each affected Aaron Brothers store are listed on www.aaronbrothers.com. ‘The Company estimates that approximately 400,000 cards were potentially impacted during this period. The Company has received a limited number of reports from the payment card brands and banks of fraudulent use of payment cards potentially connected to Michaels or Aaron Brothers.’ This incident marks the second time in three years that Michaels Stores has wrestled with a widespread compromise of its payment card systems. In May 2011, Michaels disclosed that crooks had physically tampered with some point-of-sale devices at store registers in some Chicago locations, although further investigation revealed compromised POS devices in stores across the country, from Washington, D.C. to the West Coast.”
Target has already started to upgrade their system. An article titled “Target To Reissue Cards As MasterCard chip-and-pin”(Note 3) states:
“Starting next year, Target will issue its branded credit and debit cards as MasterCard chip-and-pin cards, the company said Tuesday. The retailer's REDcard portfolio includes a Target-branded debit card, credit card, and a co-branded credit card with Visa that the company stopped issuing in 2010. All three will be reissued with MasterCard's chip-and-pin technology. Cards with chip-and-pin technology are considered more secure than the magnetic stripe cards most of us use now because they are embedded with a microchip that generates a different, single-use code to process every transaction you make. That means the card data is practically impossible to counterfeit, because even if the data is hacked, it can't be used again. The announcement comes as Target is already in the process of replacing its store registers to accept chip-and-pin cards as the company brings a renewed commitment to information security after suffering one of the largest data breaches in retail last year. Since the breach, Target sped up its adoption of the technology and committed $100 million to the effort. Sixty to 70 stores a week are being updated with new registers, with 12,000 total updated so far, says spokeswoman Molly Snyder. Target plans to have all stores updated with the registers by September.”
In another article titled “EMV Chips in 70% of Credit Cards by 2015”(Note 4) it says
“Increasing fraud rates will push issuers to migrate customers to EMV-enabled cards before the October 2015 liability shift on card-present transactions, Aite Group says. Rising card fraud will drive issuers to migrate 70% of credit cards in the US to EMV (Europay, MasterCard, and Visa*) by October 2015, along with 41% of debit cards, a new report by Aite Group predicts. Credit card fraud rates have doubled since 2007, and debit card fraud is also rising sharply, according to the report. The beginning of October 2015 is when Visa will implement a liability shift for card-present transactions. The growing fraud threat, along with other factors such as the difficulty of using magnetic stripe cards overseas, will spur issuers to hasten the issuance of EMV-enabled cards in the fourth quarter of this year, according to the report. Out of the 18 issuers interviewed for the report, eight said that they will start issuing EMV cards to the general public by the end of the first quarter of next year. This article continues on EE Times' sister site, Bank Systems & Technology. *Note: EMV chips are microprocessors. Chase bank's FAQ describes them as: Named after its original developers (Europay, MasterCard and Visa), this smart chip technology features payment instruments (cards, mobile phones, etc.) with embedded microprocessor chips that store and protect cardholder data. This standard has many names worldwide and may also be referred to as: 'chip and PIN' or 'chip and signature'... Chip cards are standard bank cards that are embedded with a micro computer chip. Some may require a PIN instead of a signature to complete the transaction process.”
In closing, we see from the last article that the push to use chip and pin or EMV chips in credit cards and debit cards is moving us one step closer to the mark of the beast. In Revelation 13:16-18 it says “16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: 17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. 18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.”
The recent breaches to the credit card processing systems at major corporations in the United States has provided the perfect opportunity to upgrade to a new type of credit card system called chip and pin or the emv chip. In an article titled “Missed Alarms and 40 Million Stolen Credit Card Numbers: How Target Blew It”(Note 1) it says
“The biggest retail hack in U.S. history wasn’t particularly inventive, nor did it appear destined for success. In the days prior to Thanksgiving 2013, someone installed malware in Target’s (TGT) security and payments system designed to steal every credit card used at the company’s 1,797 U.S. stores. At the critical moment— when the Christmas gifts had been scanned and bagged and the cashier asked for a swipe—the malware would step in, capture the shopper’s credit card number, and store it on a Target server commandeered by the hackers. ... It’s a measure of how common these crimes have become, and how conventional the hackers’ approach in this case, that Target was prepared for such an attack. Six months earlier the company began installing a $1.6 million malware detection tool made by the computer security firm FireEye (FEYE), whose customers also include the CIA and the Pentagon. Target had a team of security specialists in Bangalore to monitor its computers around the clock. If Bangalore noticed anything suspicious, Target’s security operations center in Minneapolis would be notified. On Saturday, Nov. 30, the hackers had set their traps and had just one thing to do before starting the attack: plan the data’s escape route. As they uploaded exfiltration malware to move stolen credit card numbers—first to staging points spread around the U.S. to cover their tracks, then into their computers in Russia—FireEye spotted them. Bangalore got an alert and flagged the security team in Minneapolis. And then … Nothing happened. For some reason, Minneapolis didn’t react to the sirens. Bloomberg Businessweek spoke to more than 10 former Target employees familiar with the company’s data security operation, as well as eight people with specific knowledge of the hack and its aftermath, including former employees, security researchers, and law enforcement officials. The story they tell is of an alert system, installed to protect the bond between retailer and customer, that worked beautifully. But then, Target stood by as 40 million credit card numbers—and 70 million addresses, phone numbers, and other pieces of personal information—gushed out of its mainframes. When asked to respond to a list of specific questions about the incident and the company’s lack of an immediate response to it, Target Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer Gregg Steinhafel issued an e-mailed statement: “Target was certified as meeting the standard for the payment card industry (PCI) in September 2013. Nonetheless, we suffered a data breach. As a result, we are conducting an end-to-end review of our people, processes and technology to understand our opportunities to improve data security and are committed to learning from this experience. While we are still in the midst of an ongoing investigation, we have already taken significant steps, including beginning the overhaul of our information security structure and the acceleration of our transition to chip-enabled cards. However, as the investigation is not complete, we don’t believe it’s constructive to engage in speculation without the benefit of the final analysis. . . . . In testimony before Congress, Target has said that it was only after the U.S. Department of Justice notified the retailer about the breach in mid-December that company investigators went back to figure out what happened. What it hasn’t publicly revealed: Poring over computer logs, Target found FireEye’s alerts from Nov. 30 and more from Dec. 2, when hackers installed yet another version of the malware. Not only should those alarms have been impossible to miss, they went off early enough that the hackers hadn’t begun transmitting the stolen card data out of Target’s network. Had the company’s security team responded when it was supposed to, the theft that has since engulfed Target, touched as many as one in three American consumers, and led to an international manhunt for the hackers never would have happened at all.”
Notice that Target found two alerts which could have stopped the hackers from stealing any credit card data.
In another article titled “3 Million Customer Credit, Debit Cards Stolen in Michaels, Aaron Brothers Breaches”(Note 2) it says
“Nationwide arts and crafts chain Michaels Stores Inc. said today that two separate eight-month-long security breaches at its stores last year may have exposed as many as 3 million customer credit and debit cards. The disclosure, made jointly in a press release posted online and in a statement on the company’s Web site, offers the first real details about the breach since the incident was first disclosed by KrebsOnSecurity on January 25, 2014. The statements by Irving, Texas-based Michaels suggest that the two independent security firms it hired to investigate the break-ins initially found nothing. ‘After weeks of analysis, the Company discovered evidence confirming that systems of Michaels stores in the United States and its subsidiary, Aaron Brothers, were attacked by criminals using highly sophisticated malware that had not been encountered previously by either of the security firms,’ the statement reads. The Michaels breach first came to light just weeks after retail giant Target Corp. said that cyber thieves planted malware on cash registers at its stores across the nation, stealing more than 40 million credit and debit card numbers between Nov. 27 and Dec. 15, 2013. That malware was designed to siphon card data when customers swiped their cards at the cash register. According to Michaels, the affected systems contained certain payment card information, such as payment card number and expiration date, about both Michaels and Aaron Brothers customers. The company says there is no evidence that other customer personal information, such as name, address or debit card PIN, was at risk in connection with this issue. The company’s statement says the attack on Michaels’ targeted ‘a limited portion of the point-of-sale systems at a varying number of stores between May 8, 2013 and January 27, 2014.’ ‘Only a small percentage of payment cards used in the affected stores during the times of exposure were impacted by this issue,’ the statement continues. ‘The analysis conducted by the security firms and the Company shows that approximately 2.6 million cards may have been impacted, which represents about 7% of payment cards used at Michaels stores in the U.S. during the relevant time period. The locations and potential dates of exposure for each affected Michaels store are listed on www.michaels.com.’ Regarding Aaron Brothers, Michaels Stores said it has confirmed that between June 26, 2013 and February 27, 2014, 54 Aaron Brothers stores were affected by this malware, noting that the locations for each affected Aaron Brothers store are listed on www.aaronbrothers.com. ‘The Company estimates that approximately 400,000 cards were potentially impacted during this period. The Company has received a limited number of reports from the payment card brands and banks of fraudulent use of payment cards potentially connected to Michaels or Aaron Brothers.’ This incident marks the second time in three years that Michaels Stores has wrestled with a widespread compromise of its payment card systems. In May 2011, Michaels disclosed that crooks had physically tampered with some point-of-sale devices at store registers in some Chicago locations, although further investigation revealed compromised POS devices in stores across the country, from Washington, D.C. to the West Coast.”
Target has already started to upgrade their system. An article titled “Target To Reissue Cards As MasterCard chip-and-pin”(Note 3) states:
“Starting next year, Target will issue its branded credit and debit cards as MasterCard chip-and-pin cards, the company said Tuesday. The retailer's REDcard portfolio includes a Target-branded debit card, credit card, and a co-branded credit card with Visa that the company stopped issuing in 2010. All three will be reissued with MasterCard's chip-and-pin technology. Cards with chip-and-pin technology are considered more secure than the magnetic stripe cards most of us use now because they are embedded with a microchip that generates a different, single-use code to process every transaction you make. That means the card data is practically impossible to counterfeit, because even if the data is hacked, it can't be used again. The announcement comes as Target is already in the process of replacing its store registers to accept chip-and-pin cards as the company brings a renewed commitment to information security after suffering one of the largest data breaches in retail last year. Since the breach, Target sped up its adoption of the technology and committed $100 million to the effort. Sixty to 70 stores a week are being updated with new registers, with 12,000 total updated so far, says spokeswoman Molly Snyder. Target plans to have all stores updated with the registers by September.”
In another article titled “EMV Chips in 70% of Credit Cards by 2015”(Note 4) it says
“Increasing fraud rates will push issuers to migrate customers to EMV-enabled cards before the October 2015 liability shift on card-present transactions, Aite Group says. Rising card fraud will drive issuers to migrate 70% of credit cards in the US to EMV (Europay, MasterCard, and Visa*) by October 2015, along with 41% of debit cards, a new report by Aite Group predicts. Credit card fraud rates have doubled since 2007, and debit card fraud is also rising sharply, according to the report. The beginning of October 2015 is when Visa will implement a liability shift for card-present transactions. The growing fraud threat, along with other factors such as the difficulty of using magnetic stripe cards overseas, will spur issuers to hasten the issuance of EMV-enabled cards in the fourth quarter of this year, according to the report. Out of the 18 issuers interviewed for the report, eight said that they will start issuing EMV cards to the general public by the end of the first quarter of next year. This article continues on EE Times' sister site, Bank Systems & Technology. *Note: EMV chips are microprocessors. Chase bank's FAQ describes them as: Named after its original developers (Europay, MasterCard and Visa), this smart chip technology features payment instruments (cards, mobile phones, etc.) with embedded microprocessor chips that store and protect cardholder data. This standard has many names worldwide and may also be referred to as: 'chip and PIN' or 'chip and signature'... Chip cards are standard bank cards that are embedded with a micro computer chip. Some may require a PIN instead of a signature to complete the transaction process.”
In closing, we see from the last article that the push to use chip and pin or EMV chips in credit cards and debit cards is moving us one step closer to the mark of the beast. In Revelation 13:16-18 it says “16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: 17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. 18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.”
Notes:
Note 1:http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-03-13/target-missed-alarms-in-epic-hack-of-credit-card-data
Note 2: http://krebsonsecurity.com/2014/04/3-million-customer-credit-debit-cards-stolen-in-michaels-aaron-brothers-breaches/
Note 3: http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/04/29/target-mastercard-emv-partnership/8453783/
Note 4: http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1322710
Note 1:http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-03-13/target-missed-alarms-in-epic-hack-of-credit-card-data
Note 2: http://krebsonsecurity.com/2014/04/3-million-customer-credit-debit-cards-stolen-in-michaels-aaron-brothers-breaches/
Note 3: http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/04/29/target-mastercard-emv-partnership/8453783/
Note 4: http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1322710
Coming Up In The Next Issue
Name Change For Mark Of The Beast Technology - Part V. Read this article in the next issue of The Prophetic Messenger.
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