[ED - headline edited for accuracy; MasterCard announced a security breach that it discovered at a third-party data manager. The potential fraud affects not only MasterCard]
The New York Times
reports that more than 40-million credit cards may have been exposed to fraud.
MasterCard International made the announcement this afternoon:
MasterCard said in a statement that its analysts and law enforcement officials identified a security hole at CardSystems Solutions, a company based in Tucson, Ariz., that processes more than $15 billion in Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, online debit and electronic transfer transactions a year for small to midsize merchants and financial institutions.
An unauthorized person, MasterCard said, had been able to exploit this security vulnerability and gain access to CardSystems' network, exposing the credit card accounts of millions of customers.
MasterCard said Social Security numbers, dates of birth and other sensitive information that might contribute to identity theft are not stored on its cards, although the credit card accounts accessed could be vulnerable to fraudulent charges.
This epidemic of consumer information security breaches cannot be a coincidence and can no longer be tolerated. There is a structural security problem with companies that manage and maintain personal and financial information.
Congress has to stop wasting time with its ridiculous obsession with people's sex lives and religious practices. They must start attending to the people's business.
The financial services industry lobbyists will have to go take a flying leap. This problem requires nothing less than a governmental solution. Congress must impose federal security standards to protect American consumers.
Uncommonsense