Apparatus and method for monitoring security of a point-of-sale terminal

A method for monitoring security of a point-of-sale terminal, the method comprising:

• (a) the point-of-sale terminal monitoring one or more security parameters associated with the point-of-sale terminal, a violation of any one of the security parameters being indicative of a compromise of the point-of-sale terminal;
• (b) the point-of-sale terminal detecting any violation of any one of the security parameters,
• (c) the point-of-sale terminal transmitting to a terminal management server data regarding the any detected violation of the one or more of the security parameters, and the terminal management server classifying the any detected violation of the one or more of the security parameters as potential fraudulent activity;
• and
• (d) in response to the terminal management server classifying the any detected violation of the one or more of the security parameters as potential fraudulent activity, the point-of-sale terminal receiving from the terminal management server a command disabling functionality of the point-of-sale terminal,
• wherein the one or more security parameters includes a network connectivity status of the point-of-sale terminal, the point-of-sale terminal maintains a network connection with the terminal management server, and the detecting any violation of the any one of the security parameters includes the point-of-sale terminal detecting a termination of the network connection.