The US Secret Service is investigating a major cyber intrusion at an Atlanta-based payment processor that could expose millions of Mastercard, Visa, American Express and Discover cardholders to fraudulent charges.
A major cyber intrusion that could expose millions of cardholders to fraudulent charges
Processor Global Payments Inc said last Friday it had found “unauthorised access” into its system early in March and notified law enforcement and financial institutions.
Payment network operators Mastercard Inc, Visa Inc, American Express Co and Discover Financial Services confirmed they were affected, along with banks and other franchises that issue cards bearing their logos.
A spokesman for the Secret Service said the agency is leading investigations into the case but declined to give any details.
Though Global Payments is far from a household name, middlemen such as the company are prized targets for hackers because of the vast amount of sensitive financial information they handle. The company’s stock fell more than nine per cent on the news before trading was halted. It said it would discuss the breach in a phone call for investors tomorrow.
It was not immediately clear how Global Payments was penetrated or how many accounts were exposed. Consumers who detect fraud usually can be reimbursed. That leaves merchants on the hook financially, though they could file claims against Global Payments.
Analysts said Mastercard and Visa are unlikely to face costs from the breach, but Mastercard shares fell 1.8 per cent to close at $420.54 (€315.15) and Visa shares dropped 0.8 per cent to $118 (€88).
The security breach is just the latest in a long string of incidents that have put the personal information of millions of credit and debit cardholders at risk.
Individual banks and processors said they had not yet determined the full extent of the breach, but the blog Krebs on Security, which first reported the breach, said it was “massive” and could affect more than 10 million cardholders.