MasterCard: Security breach threatens 40 million accounts

[elehhhhna]

June 17, 2005, 5:02PM

MasterCard: Security breach threatens 40 million accounts
Associated Press


Source: MasterCard International
NEW YORK - A security breach of customer information at a credit card-processing company could put at risk 40 million cardholders of all brands, MasterCard International Inc. said today.

The credit card giant said its security division detected multiple instances of fraud that tracked back to CardSystems Solutions Inc. of Tucson, Ariz., which processes transactions for banks and merchants.

MasterCard said in a news release late this afternoon that it was notifying its card-issuing banks of the problem.

CardSystems was hit by a computer virus that captured customer data for the purpose of fraud, said company spokeswoman Sharon Gamsin.
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/topstory2/3230470

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

1. Something very nefarious is up with all these breaches.

What it is, I cannot put my finger on. But this has gone well beyond mere criminality. That is coordination and planning, considering the shear numbers involved, that strip away any possibility that this is merely thieves.

Theories? Anyone?

[Old and In the Way]

2. Total Information Awareness (TIA)

They want to datamine and use this to politically silence their opposition.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

4. Perhaps.

But maybe not, too. I cannot put my finger on it.

That said, all these security breaches add up to what is perhaps the most important story around, save Iraq. This goes to the fundament of "full faith and credit" in what is, perhaps, our single largest economic underpinning.

[SmokingJacket]

3. Well, apparently this has been happening all along...

but California recently passed a law that said that customers have to be notified if there's a security breach.

[Kansas Wyatt]

5. Ruin everybody's credit rating, so....

Creditors can justify jacking up interest rates on everyone. Interest rates will still be low, but everyone will be charged higher rates for their now poor ratings due to the damage being done with this lost data.

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