Credit card processor Global Payments released a statement on Monday admitting that its systems have been compromised. The announcement came after reports surfaced that thousands of credit card accounts had been breached through its machines.
Last week, security researcher Brian Krebbs discovered Visa and MasterCard were alerting US banks to a credit card hack. The companies were informing the institutions that a vulernable payments processor was allowing cyber criminals to obtain data associated with a number of credit cards.
The affected processors were believed to be located in parking garages around the New York City area. Soon after the report surfaced, Visa issued a statement confirming the breach. At the time, Krebs cited the PSCU as estimating the total compromised credit cards at over 50 000.
“We are making rapid progress toward bringing this issue to a close,” said Global Payments CEO Paul Garcia. “We are open for business and continue to process transactions for all of the card brands.”
Garcia confirmed that “Track 2″ data, or credit card account numbers, were indeed stolen and that the total number is now up to 1,5m. Names, addresses and social security numbers belonging to these accounts, however, remain safeguarded, according to Global Payments. The company assured customers that it “identified and self-reported” the issue when it was discovered in early March. Law enforcement is currently working with Global Payments, and the incident has been “contained”. — Meghan Kelly, VentureBeat
