Are you a regular customer of Amazon, eBay, and other e-commerce stores in the United States? If yes, here's a warning you should know. A security company recently found several hackers able to open the customers' credit card details and steal their money, through the most common e-commerce web analytics software, Google Analytics. Here's how it happened.
Beware! There's a hidden hacker on Google Analytics
As first reported via Bleeping Computers, hackers were found snooping information on several entries in Google servers and Google Analytics.
Google Analytics is the company's web analytics service made for businesses to have easier control in website traffic and social media platforms. It is one of the most famous and used analytics service, even by huge e-commerce websites in the world.
Last week, it was revealed that the usage of Content Security Policy (CSP) on e-commerce websites was not as effective as businesses think.
The 'Magecart' hackers-- malicious hacker groups targeting online shopping carts-- were said to be the ones that use to bypass the CSP configuration in order to access the profile of each customer.
Using the technology of Google Analytics, hackers can take "an easy to reproduce vulnerability in the core functionality of CSP when using it for blocking theft of credentials, PII and payment data like credit cards."
What CSP does is instead of protecting the server from the attackers, the software will not affect any phishing plans of hackers unto your account. Therefore, explaining its uselessness for e-commerce businesses.
"The source of the problem is that the CSP rule system isn't granular enough," PerimeterX's VP of research and development Amir Shaked explained.
Google servers don't 'flag' all suspicious campaigns on the platform
Another thing that makes this hacking more dangerous is how people are now dependent on the usage of Google servers.
As explained, CSP's main objective is to execute untrusted codes; it will be detected. However, since Google servers are already used by everyone, it can easily dodge their security protocols.
"Typically, a digital skimmer (aka Magecart) runs on dodgy servers in tax havens, and its location reveals its nefarious intent," explains Sansec's Threat Research Team. "But when a skimming campaign runs entirely on trusted Google servers, very few security systems will flag it as 'suspicious'. And more importantly, popular countermeasures like Content-Security-Policy (CSP) will not work when a site administrator trusts Google."
Anonymous Blueleaks
In line with hacking, on Monday, June 22, the most famous hacking group, Anonymous, has stolen and leaked police records from over 200 police departments in the country.
The so-called Blueleaks collection features internal memos, financial records, and more from the state, local, and federal agencies.
