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Hackers Used Favicon Website To Steal Credit Card Information

By July 10, 2020May 5th, 2022Cybersecurity

Hackers are constantly on the lookout for new ways of causing mayhem and stealing data.

Recently, researchers have unearthed a new technique to be on guard against. A few hackers have begun embedding credit card stealing scripts inside favicon meta data.

If you’re not familiar with the term, you definitely know what a favicon is.

It’s a custom icon used by websites for branding, associated with a specific URL. Although not universal, they are ubiquitous on the web and most companies have them.

While the idea of embedding malicious scripts on websites to steal credit card information is not new, the notion of hiding those scripts in the EXIF files of a company’s favicon to avoid detection is both new and innovative. The new technique was spotted by researchers at Malwarebytes. They discovered the script embedded as described above, and designed to steal credit card data from sites making use of a popular WordPress ecommerce plugin called WooCommerce.

Of course, the script could be modified to attack any other ecommerce platform, so this isn’t a threat that’s unique to those making use of WooCommerce. If you do use that plugin, you should have your IT staff perform a careful check of your system to ensure that you haven’t been compromised. The value of embedding the script here is that most scans don’t include favicon meta data by default. Fortunately, that’s easily fixed. So going forward, as long as you be sure to include it, then your risks should be minimal.

This is by no means the first time hackers have found an unusual point of insertion for the scripts they rely on to cause harm, and it certainly won’t be the last. Just be sure that your IT staff is aware of the issue and stay vigilant.

Jason Manteiga

Jason J. Manteiga, Vice President of Olmec Systems, has been part of the company for over the past 20 years. He believes that having a great work environment and supportive team, is the ultimate key to success. Since being in the IT realm for over 25 years, Jason, along with Olmec Systems, has been on the Inc. 5000 “List of America’s Fastest Growing Private Companies” and Channel Futures MSP 501 “Top Managed Service Providers in North America,” along with other awards and nominations. Jason earned his Bachelor Degree in Information Systems from the New Jersey Institute of Technology. He also holds certifications in Microsoft MCSE, VMWare VCP, and Cisco CCNA. In his spare time, Jason is a contributor for The Center for Social & Legal Research (Privacy Exchange) and a member of the Morris County Chamber of Commerce. His hobbies include cycling and kayaking. He currently lives in New Jersey with his wife, two daughters and son.