1-800-719-9198 sales@avpsolutions.com
AVPS Accept Credit Cards Online
  • Home
  • Solutions
  • Products
  • Blog
  • Contact
Select Page

Breaches Old and New: Target Settles, More Blue Cross Leaks; New Security Measures

by Credit Card Processing | Mar 19, 2015 | AVP Solutions Merchant Info, AVP Solutions News and Events, credit card security, e-commerce merchant account | 0 comments

Data breaches, their discontents and fallout, have filled the news this week. You’ll remember, of course, when the Target customer data breach in 2013 finally catapulted questions about customer security in the digital age onto the front page. Now comes word that Target has, at last, reached a settlement in that case. As tech website Gizmodo reports, “following lengthy discussions with the lawyers of those affected by the hack, the retailer has agreed to pay up a $10 million settlement.” Of course, that has to be divvied up among the 40 million or so customers who were affected. The “ceiling” on each settlement appears to be $10,000. The way the process will work is that “a digital version of that form will appear on a dedicated website, where those affected by the breach will be asked to provide ‘reasonable documentation showing their losses more likely than not arose from the Target data breach (for example, a credit card statement, invoice or receipt)… That will include up to two hours of ‘lost time’ billed at $10 per hour for each type of loss.” Blue Cross may in for a similar settlement down the road. Coming on the heels of the recent announcement of personal information — addresses and Social Security numbers — being pilfered from Anthem Blue Cross, comes word that another Blue Cross company, Premera Blue Cross, may have suffered a similar hack, including not only Social Security info,  but, as NPR reports “credit card numbers, even information about medical problems. Premera issued a statement  saying it discovered the breach on Jan. 29. That’s about the same date that Anthem, another Blue Cross company, told the FBI that it was breached. “It’s possible that Anthem put the word out and, given the timelines, the attacks were related — done by the same perpetrator. At least that’s an educated guess from the cybersecurity company iSight Partners.Premera also says the attack itself started in May of last year.” As the article observes, “that’s many, many months to steal people’s data.” On the other hand, it also notes that as valuable as medical information is, none of the earlier Blue Cross info has shown up on black markets. Speculation accrues that international intrigue — and possible blackmail attempts of government employees (who use Blue Cross) — could be involved. That might sound like something lifted from a modern spy thriller, but true to such stories, “countermeasures” are being taken. In the arena of payment security, Business Insider  lists additional steps being taken to address fraud that “cost US retailers approximately $32 billion in 2014, up from $23 billion just one year earlier.” As the article avers, “payment companies and merchants are implementing new payment protocols that could finally help mitigate fraud.” They list the upcoming switch to EMV cards, as frequently reported here, as one of those steps. In addition, they talk about increasing use of encryption in transactions, “degrades valuable data by using an algorithm to translate card numbers into new values,” which makes the data unusable for further transactions. This is similar to what happens with “Tokenization,” which the article describes as digital “schemes (to) assign a random value to payment data,making it effectively impossible for hackers to access the sensitive data from the token itself. Tokens are often ‘multiuse,’ meaning merchants don’t have to force consumers to re-enter their payment details.” This is one of the attraction of newer payment methods — virtual wallets, etc. — though newer digital protection protocols for these methods  — synching up the “old and the new,” as it were, in terms of the different databases that share transaction information, are still being worked out. If you want to expand customer payment options, or want look into ways to make your business transactions more mobile, more secure, etc., contact your AVPS Rep today, if you need to upgrade, expand — or want to get a few digital steps ahead!

Submit a Comment Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Recent Posts:

  • Doing Business In A World With No Money
  • Big Business Eating Your Lunch? Beat Them on Customer Care
  • Help for the Holiday Chargeback Hangover
  • Getting CBD Payment Processors Approved
  • 6 Best Practices for Non -Profit Organizations in Setting Up Online Donations

Categories

  • ach
  • ach payments
  • AVP merchant solutions info
  • AVP Solutions Merchant Info
  • AVP Solutions News and Events
  • AVP Solutions Videos
  • business merchant services
  • card processing
  • check processing
  • credit card security
  • credit card service
  • credit card swiper
  • e-commerce merchant account
  • economic history
  • EMV Chip
  • Fintech
  • high risk accounts
  • high risk merchant accounts
  • holidays
  • merchant account companies
  • merchant account services
  • merchant account solutions
  • merchant cash funding
  • merchant services
  • merchant solutions
  • merchant websites
  • mobile phone credit card processing
  • mobile processing
  • online check services
  • online checking
  • online payment services
  • pay with checks
  • secure payment processing
  • Testimonials
  • virtual merchandizing

Archives

  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • January 2019
  • November 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • November 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
   American Verification Processing Solutions, LLC, Payment Processing Services, Canoga Park, CA
AVPS, LLC is a registered ISO/MSP of Central Bank of St. Louis, Clayton, MO

Address :6737 Variel Canoga Park, CA 91303

Phone : 1-800-719-9198
  • Blog
  • ISO Program
  • 818-657-3640
  • Email Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Linkedin

Copyright © 2017 American Verification Processing Solutions, LLC - High risk merchants will not be boarded under TSYS