Credit card hack endangers 40m accounts

Posted on 20 Jun 2005 at 16:39

A breach in a data-processing company's security has potentially left 40m credit cards open to fraud

MasterCard said Friday it had identified a security breach on a machine belonging to Tuscon-based CardSystems Solutions. CardSystems itself says the incident happened in late May and has subsequently contacted the FBI as well as MasterCard and VISA.

MasterCard described the breach as a set of 'vulnerabilities [which] allowed an unauthorized individual to infiltrate their network and access the cardholder data'. However it is unclear whether any actual criminal activity has occurred as a result of this.

CardSystems says it has already beefed up security and brought in an independent third-party to validate their efforts.

A spokesperson for MasterCard told the BBC that while the security breach could lead to accounts being raided, identity theft was not possible.

Author: Matt Whipp