Pro PoS

Posted: December 2, 2015

Threat Metric

The Threat Meter is a malware assessment that SpywareRemove.com's research team is able to give every identifiable malware threat. Our Threat Meter includes several criteria based off of specific malware threats to value their severity, reach and volume. The Threat Meter is able to give you a numerical breakdown of each threat's initial Threat Level, Detection Count, Volume Count, Trend Path and Percentage Impact. The overall ranking of each threat in the Threat Meter is a basic breakdown of how all threats are ranked within our own extensive malware database. The scoring for each specific malware threat can be easily compared to other emerging threats to draw a contrast in its particular severity. The Threat Meter is a useful tool in the endeavor of seeking a solution to remove a threat or pursue additional analytical research for all types of computer users.

The following fields listed on the Threat Meter containing a specific value, are explained in detail below:

Threat Level: The threat level scale goes from 1 to 10 where 10 is the highest level of severity and 1 is the lowest level of severity. Each specific level is relative to the threat's consistent assessed behaviors collected from SpyHunter's risk assessment model.

Detection Count: The collective number of confirmed and suspected cases of a particular malware threat. The detection count is calculated from infected PCs retrieved from diagnostic and scan log reports generated by SpyHunter.

Volume Count: Similar to the detection count, the Volume Count is specifically based on the number of confirmed and suspected threats infecting systems on a daily basis. High volume counts usually represent a popular threat but may or may not have infected a large number of systems. High detection count threats could lay dormant and have a low volume count. Criteria for Volume Count is relative to a daily detection count.

Trend Path: The Trend Path, utilizing an up arrow, down arrow or equal symbol, represents the level of recent movement of a particular threat. Up arrows represent an increase, down arrows represent a decline and the equal symbol represent no change to a threat's recent movement.

% Impact (Last 7 Days): This demonstrates a 7-day period change in the frequency of a malware threat infecting PCs. The percentage impact correlates directly to the current Trend Path to determine a rise or decline in the percentage.

Threat Level:	9/10
Infected PCs:	436

First Seen:	December 2, 2015
Last Seen:	October 10, 2023
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

Pro PoS is a Point-of-Sale Trojan that uses advanced features for concealing itself while scanning the infected machine for the consumer's financial data, such as credit card numbers. Although casual PC users are unlikely to have their systems infected by Pro PoS, Pro PoS, like any PoS-based threat, is a meaningful security risk for most major retailers, particularly in first-world regions. Its deployment method may vary between incidents, but malware experts always advise uninstalling Pro PoS with appropriate anti-malware products.

Professional Tidings from Seasonal Retailer Thieves

Although shopping seasons bring with them increased sales and financial activity, they also herald the incoming of new, retailer-oriented spyware. Pro PoS is a recent entry into this black market, and like many, other POS Trojans, is rented out to third parties, who deploy the threat on their individual terms. Current prices for renting Pro PoS from its dev team (estimated to be operating in eastern Europe) are over 2,000 USD for a half-year 'license.' The direct implication of Pro PoS's business model is that its means of distribution and infection could change significantly between instances. Confirmed attacks already are being seen in North America.

Pro PoS targets Point-of-Sale machines specifically, scanning them for credit and debit card data Pro PoS then uploads over a network connection. Other, more technical features malware researchers saw in evidence include:

Pro PoS joins the likes of threats such as Chanitor in exploiting TOR ('The Onion Router') as a network-based anonymity service, hiding its C&C activities from easy detection.
Pro PoS uses rootkit technology to launch itself automatically during a system boot and conceal its file modifications from standard anti-virus scans.
Pro PoS also is polymorphic, a characteristic that lets Pro PoS modify its personal code superficially to generate new threat signatures over time. This feature may slow down detection and analysis attempts by professional security tools.

Keeping Pro PoS from Selling Your Funds Cheaply

Pro PoS may distribute itself via physical compromises of a machine's security but is more likely to be installed via network attacks brute-forcing past weak passwords. Strong overall security standards for retailer networks and systems continue to be one of the lynchpins in crippling PoS Trojans, including both Pro PoS and other, equally new spyware kits like POSeidon and Backoff. Consumers who may be victimized by Pro PoS should monitor their banking and credit bills for any discrepancies that could be explained by collected data.

Pro PoS's European developers took significant time to build a range of different, defensive features for Pro PoS, implying that the threat is intended to have a long-term lifespan in the threat black market. However, updated anti-malware tools still should be capable of identifying and deleting Pro PoS, assuming that preventive security steps fail. As always, all affected retailers should warn their customers of any potential compromises in PoS data that could lead to later repercussions, such as fraudulent charges.

Pro PoS

Threat Metric

Professional Tidings from Seasonal Retailer Thieves

Keeping Pro PoS from Selling Your Funds Cheaply

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