ChewBacca, Point-of-sale malware, has hit small retailers around the globe including the US, Russia, Canada and Australia.

Researchers at RSA Security have found that, although not new, it has escaped notice so far. The malware uses the darknet as a communications channel and features simple keylogging and memory-scraping functionality.

"RSA observed that communication is handled through the TOR network, concealing the real IP address of the Command and Control (C&C) server(s), encrypting traffic, and avoiding network-level detection," writes Yotam Gottesman, a senior security researcher in RSA's FirstWatch team.

"The server address uses the pseudo-TLD “.onion” that is not resolvable outside of a Tor network and requires a Tor proxy app which is installed by the bot on the infected machine. The ChewBacca Trojan appears to be a simple piece of malware that, despite its lack of sophistication and defense mechanisms, succeeded in stealing payment card information from several dozen retailers around the world in a little more than two months."

The malware earns its moniker from a server login image featuring the heroic Wookie from the Star Wars films.