A new FBI report warned retailers more computer attacksdesigned to steal credit and debit card data at the point of saleare likely in the near- to mid-term.

“As the [Department of Homeland Security] report suggests, thegrowing popularity of this type of malware, the accessibility ofthe malware on underground forums, the affordability of thesoftware and the huge potential profits to be made from retail POSsystems in the United States make this type offinancially-motivated cyber crime attractive to a wide range ofactors,” the report from the FBI's Cyber Division said. “We believePOS malware crime will continue to grow over the near term despitelaw enforcement and security firms' actions to mitigate it.”

The investigative agency said that it had discovered roughly 20incidents over the past year where software designed to steal cardnumbers had been introduced onto the POS terminals of U.S.retailers. It also indicated in the Jan. 17 report thatprograms designed to perpetrate these thefts have been seen on salein underground criminal forums for $6,000.

Significantly, the report said the POS theft software had notinfected POS terminals on its own, but had always been deliveredsubsequent to other breaches which were often made using well knownand routine strategies.

This suggested tightening up on standard data security measurescould play a key role in keeping the software off of POSsystems.

“The POS malware is typically introduced into a system after thesystem has already been compromised. In other words, the POSmalware serves as the payload as a result of the initialintrusion,” the report said. “The attack can take various forms,such as phishing e-mails,compromised Web sites, and other common infection vectors.”