Credit-cards hacked in Longueuil: IntelCrawler

MONTREAL — Private data were recently pirated from 280 magnetic-stripe credit cards used at a single location in Longueuil, as part of a wide-scope attack that struck several continents, according to a California company that tracks computer malware.

The tracking firm, IntelCrawler LLC of Los Angeles, didn’t specify the type of business struck in Longueuil. It said typical targets include restaurants, stores, gas stations and hotels.

The firm attributed the attack to “a new strain of point-of-sale malware, named JackPOS,” that appears to be based on earlier malware code, dubbed Alina.

“The malware samples are pretty fresh and were created close to the beginning of February,” IntelCrawler added in a detailed summary on its website, suggesting the “bad actors” used sophisticated techniques to break into merchant systems.

IntelCrawler pinpointed a broad swath of breaches. It said 400 cards were compromised in Vancouver; 3,000 in Sao Paulo, Brazil; and others in similar fresh incidents reported in the U.S., Spain, France, India, Argentina and South Korea.

Given the widespread nature of the attack, the Longueuil police force isn’t investigating, Constable Mark David said.

“Normally,” he added, “the cards are cancelled, and the clients are advised and provided with a replacement card. Then, there’s an internal investigation,” usually by banks.

The Longueuil force hadn’t been advised of the local breach, he said, “not on this specific case.”