Once More into the Breach

Bank Technology News | March, 2010

The Heartland Payment Systems breach happened a long time ago—almost two years to be exact. But its lingering impact is still being felt across the payments industry.

First National Bank of Durango, Co. said that up to 5,000 customers were exposed to potential card fraud tied to a source outside of the bank. While the bank’s not publicly pointing fingers, local and national press reports linked the First National incident to fallout from the 2008 Heartland Payment Systems breach, in which millions of card customers were exposed after malicious software was installed on Heartland’s processing system.

The bank made the announcement after customers reported “bad” debit card transactions. In a public statement, the bank noted that its systems remained secure, and that the breach occurred at a “third party processor.” While fewer than two dozen cards have suffered fraudulent transactions, the 5,000 customers who are potentially exposed are about a quarter of the bank’s customer base.

A Heartland rep would not comment, and First National would not comment other than to say it would not publicly identify a specific source for the breach. Since the initial Heartland breach, Heartland CEO Robert Carr has become a vocal advocate for fraud prevention across the payments industry, and the firm has tested end-to-end encryption toplogy.

Hacker and one time Secret Service informant Albert Gonzalez pled guilty web attacks connected to the Heartland Breach, and faces up to 17 years in jail.