Wal-Mart computers down in parts of country. Cyber attack or system failure? (Edit)

Hi all. I just got back from the local Wal-Mart (even though I don't like their practices they do have some handy cheap stuff).
Anyway they said they are only accepting cash right now, because their computers are down.
I asked if something blew in the store and they told me it was ALL of their stores that were affected world-wide.
They said they were in the process of trying to figure it out.

Well, ATS, do you think somebody hacked and attacked the computers of Wal-Mart?
Or do you think it is some kind of "massive failure"?


UPDATE: It seems that it is NOT world wide but it IS affecting several different parts of the US...

It was North Korea! NUKE THEM NOW!!!
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/7ab65202ab0a.jpg[/atsimg]

I wonder if this is true in the uk too. someone go to asda and check

I don't buy this. The network services would be local for their registers and things ( I would think), so it wouldn't matter what was happening at a different location.

I also can't find any news on it so far and a few weeks ago when business like Comcast,NASA and NBC were hit with a cyber attack it made the news very fast.

I could understand if it was their mail servers or something like that but not their registers for taking money.

I realize that it is possible something in their system (virus maybe) caused the whole thing to crash. If it was a purposeful attack from an outside source, it could be because Wal-Mart promotes itself as being as American as apple pie. Like it or not it is one of the many things that, for lack of a better term, is a "symbol" of the US.
Anybody else hear anything about this yet?

reply to post by Chamberf=6

It appears someone at Wal-Mart lied to you. There is nothing on the web or news about this. If this was true, it would be big news especially to Wall Street.

And after checking out Wal-Mart's stock price, it has taken a little dive in the last few hours but is about the same as where it started this morning. www.marketwatch.com...

reply to post by harrytuttle


no, not everything is posted onto the internet immediatly. it will take a while to get onto tv as well.

reply to post by harrytuttle


That's something I wondered. The person I was talking to seemed to be very knowledgeable, but I would have thought something would be on the news if it WAS world-wide.

Mods remove this or whatever you need to do.

Good for Wal-mart! After that online survey they had
few weeks ago. For a chance to win $1k, they gave
your info to several companys...

Wal Mart was DDoS'ed last Christmas eve, if memory serves - and only their website was effected.

Though I do think that there is some localization of their systems, there are also aspects of it which are global. For example, a transaction from one store can be instantly referenced, by transaction number, from any other store.

reply to post by whoshotJR


It WAS affecting the registers though, they could only accept cash...
I don't know what their mail servers would have to do with that.

Originally posted by Chamberf=6
reply to post by whoshotJR

 

It WAS affecting the registers though, they could only accept cash...
I don't know what their mail servers would have to do with that.

Wal Mart uses a check verification service. An outside service from their own operations.

That is probably is what is down.

I just called my local WalMart and the lady that answered the phone hadn't heard anything about it, but she went to the cashiers to check. When she came back she said everything was fine. I can use my debit or credit, and they haven't had any problems all day.

they are running windows 2000, 'nuf said.

reply to post by Hefficide


I could see that but that would only be checks, debit cards and credit cards wouldn't be effected. That is why it doesn't add up for me, its not like its an ISP issue because that is different in each location. The registers servers wouldn't be the same world wide, either would their check system.

I've got a friend in NY that couldn't check out without cash, and it is showing up on twitter and facebook.
One tv station had a tweet about it. Said unconfirmed. I'm told ING had a bad upgrade, BoA has been having trouble due to maintainence....there's been problems.
Not ready to call this one untrue just yet, personally.

Here's one: twitter.com...




www.kfsm.com...

wasnt there a thread yesterday about some new type of "attackvirus" wich is affecting corporations? I'll try to look up the thread but if this truly happened, my guess is that this thread and the one yesterday are most likely intimately linked...

here's the link
www.abovetopsecret.com...

I wish devilmart the worst that can happen be it cyber attack or some kind of system failure.
It is the Enemy of America and of people EVERYWHERE ...
They come into every small town they can and put locals out of business with their evilness, such as buying from sweatshops to hiring criminal invaders
I hope it crashes and burns ...

Do NOT Shop There People ...

Theres tons of activity on Twitter about this, both Wal-mart and Sams store (Whatever that is) not accepting any card transactions

Link to twitter search

Originally posted by faceoff85
wasnt there a thread yesterday about some new type of "attackvirus" wich is affecting corporations? I'll try to look up the thread but if this truly happened, my guess is that this thread and the one yesterday are most likely intimately linked...

here's the link
www.abovetopsecret.com...

It was said to be attacking "Siemans" systems. We have a Siemans system at my work. Anybody know if WalMart uses Siemans?