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This story appears in the March 2009 issue of Cards&Payments.
Estimates in consumer and trade media about the number of cards compromised in the
Some reporters and analysts say the breach could far surpass the record for compromised cards held by U.S.-based retail chain TJX Cos. Inc. TJX initially estimated the breach it announced in January 2007 compromised some 45 million credit and debit cards. But court documents generated by a lawsuit against TJX that included testimony from Visa Inc. and
Several issuers have confirmed the breach compromised some of their cards, but not many issuers, particularly not large issuers, would give specific numbers.
A representative for a company that prints cards for issuers, who asked not to be identified, tells Cards&Payments the printer did not receive a significant increase in orders for new cards in the days following the Heartland breach.
"We really haven't seen a major push as of yet," the source said, nearly two weeks after Heartland's official announcement. That does not necessarily mean Heartland hackers compromised fewer cards than in previous breaches, he adds.
Card printers scrambled to keep up with issuer demand for new cards to replace compromised accounts following the TJX breach. Since then, "it seems that processors and issuers have improved their systems to monitor accounts identified by the associations as compromised," the source says. "A lot of card issuers are probably using those applications before they jump and do a mass reissue."
