Global Security, Privacy, & Risk Management

2012 – Another “Massive” Credit Card Breach March 30, 2012

According to Krebsonsecurity, the payment card industry has been wracked by yet another massive data breach.  The story says that Visa and MasterCard are alerting companies to a US processor that was breached.  This, according to reports, is a breach of Track1 and Track2 data.  For those unfamiliar with credit cards, track1 and track 2 data is what is known as “magnetic stripe data” and is used to counterfeit cards as it contains the sensitive authentication data necessary for retail (card present) transactions.  This is the most dangerous and valuable data to criminals.

As stated on the site: “In separate non-public alerts sent late last week, VISA and MasterCard began warning banks about specific cards that may have been compromised. The card associations stated that the breached credit card processor was compromised between Jan. 21, 2012 and Feb. 25, 2012.”