Heartland Starts It's Slow Climb Off the Canvas

Bank Technology News contributor, John Adams, writes that Heartland is still reeling from the left hook thrown by Hackers:

Heartland Starts its Slow Climb
off the Canvas

Bank Technology News | May 2009
By John Adams


Heartland Payments Systems is still taking its standing eight count after one of the worst data breaches in history, but with its Visa PCI DDS validation restored, the firm hopes to emerge with a sober lesson it can share with other firms to prevent future breaches.


“We now we have a greater appreciation for how brazen some of these organized cybercriminals are,” says Jason Maloni, a spokesman for Heartland in Princeton, NJ.

Count that as at least $12.5 million in appreciation—the amount the breach has cost the company thus far, including legal costs and fines from MasterCard and Visa. Heartland successfully completed its annual Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) assessment and has returned to Visa’s list of validated service providers. Visa had suspended Heartland, placing it on probation, though the firm was still allowed to process credit card transactions. Heartland, which reported a $2.5 million first quarter loss last week compared to net income of nearly $9 million in 2008, also faces a handful of class action suits connected to the breach.

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