Formjacking is the new form of attack to retrieve customer banking information directly from online shopping sites. This procedure involves stealthily inserting malicious JavaScript code directly into website shopping carts, allowing hackers to intercept credit card data without arousing suspicion.
Formjacking is when cybercriminals inject malicious JavaScript code to hack a website and take over the functionality of the site’s form page to collect sensitive user information. Formjacking is designed to steal credit card details and other information from payment forms that can be captured on the checkout pages of websites.
Once a user enters their payment card data on an e-commerce payment page and clicks “submit,” the malicious JavaScript code is what collects the entered information. The malicious JavaScript code that has been installed by the cyber-criminals can collect information such as payment card details, home and business addresses, phone numbers and more.
Once the information has been collected, it is then transferred to the attacker’s servers. The cyberthieves can then use this information for financial gain themselves, or they can sell the information on the dark web. With this information, cybercriminals can then use the data for identity theft or payment card fraud.
How To Detect Formjacking
There is no way for a consumer to detect a formjacking attack while it’s happening, and it’s very difficult for the merchant or payment processor to pick up on. With formjacking, any provider that is “downstream” from the affected website can also be affected without the provider’s knowledge.
When the code on a webpage is compromised, you don’t have typical hints–such as a spoofed URL or non-secure WiFi connection–to alert you that something is wrong. It can take many hours of manual research and work to discover and remove malicious code.
Some companies claim that products like antivirus or scanning software can detect instances of malicious code insertion, but that is not always the case.
How To Protect Yourself From Formjacking Attacks?
It is often difficult to detect formjacking, but adopting certain measures will help unmask it as quickly as possible and minimize risk:
- Use online banking apps: Check your bank statements to make sure no unusual withdrawals have been made. Questionable transactions can reveal compromised banking data. Activate push notifications informing you in real time about the operations carried out with your bank card.
- Enable 2-Factor Authentication: Create strong and complex passwords to protect all your accounts. If possible, configure 2-factor authentication, as this may be enough to protect you from a formjacking attack.
- Install powerful software to secure your devices: Install a security solution to protects your sensitive data, such as credit card details, against fake and malicious websites.
