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@import url(http://graphics8.nytimes.com/css/page_type/article/screen.css); @import url(http://graphics8.nytimes.com/css/globalToolbar_std.css); MasterCard Says 40 Million Files Put at Risk - New York Times More Articles in Business > Advertise on NYTimes.com Skip to article NYTimes.com News Business Education Health International National New York/Region NYT Front Page Obituaries Science Sports Technology Washington Weather Features Arts Books Cartoons Crossword/Games Dining & Wine Fashion & Style Home & Garden Learning Network Magazine Movies Multimedia/Photos NYC Guide Theater Travel Week in Review Opinion Editorials/Op-Ed Readers' Opinions The Public Editor CLASSIFIEDS Autos Job Market Real Estate All Classifieds Go to a Section Log In - Register Now NYT Since 1981 NYT 1851-1980 Google/Web Multimedia NYC Guide Business Home Media & Advertising World Business Your Money Markets Company Research Mutual Funds Stock Portfolio Columns MasterCard Says 40 Million Files Put at Risk Sign In to E-Mail This Printer-Friendly Single-Page Reprints Save Article By ERIC DASH and TOM ZELLER Jr. Published: June 18, 2005 Correction AppendedMasterCard International reported yesterday that more than 40 million credit card accounts of all brands might have been exposed to fraud through a computer security breach at a payment processing company, perhaps the largest case of stolen consumer data to date. MasterCard said its analysts and law enforcement officials had identified a pattern of fraudulent charges that were traced to an intrusion at CardSystems Solutions of Tucson, Ariz., which processes more than $15 billion in payments for small to midsize merchants and financial institutions each year. About 20 million Visa and 13.9 million MasterCard accounts were compromised; the other accounts belonged to American Express or Discover cardholders. The accounts affected included credit cards and certain kinds of debit cards. The F.B.I. said it was investigating. A MasterCard spokeswoman, Sharon Gamsin, said an infiltrator had managed to place a computer code or script on the CardSystems network that made it possible to extract information. She would not elaborate on how long the breach might have lasted, on when the inquiry began or on whether any infiltrators had been identified. She did say that the breach occurred this year. Deborah McCarley, a spokeswoman for the F.B.I. field office in Phoenix, said that her agency was trying to establish the scope of the breach and that "the investigation is just beginning." MasterCard said its investigation found that CardSystems, in violation of MasterCard's rules, was storing cardholders' account numbers and security codes on its computer systems. That information, MasterCard said, was supposed to be transferred to the bank handling the merchants' transactions but not retained by CardSystems. Bill Reeves, a Card Systems spokesman, said last night that "there is quite a bit of transactional data that goes back and forth," but he declined to say whether the company was inappropriately storing data, as MasterCard indicated. There were conflicting accounts on how the investigation began. CardSystems said it identified a potential problem on May 22 or May 23 and contacted the F.B.I., then the Visa and MasterCard associations. It said steps were taken immediately to ensure all systems were secure.MasterCard said the investigation began when it was notified by several banks that they had detected atypical levels of fraudulent charges. In turn, MasterCard began monitoring information from the accounts for common purchasing points. Using data-analysis systems, it was able to focus on an unspecified bank receiving spending data from merchants. "When we started to dig into it, working with the bank and working with their systems, we detected it couldn't be them and basically triangulated at the process and arrived at CardSystems Solutions," said John Brady, MasterCard's head of merchant risk services. MasterCard said it then began working with CardSystems, the other payment networks like Visa, banks and law enforcement personnel.Visa said in a statement that it had been aware of the data breach but kept quiet at the request of the authorities. Discover and American Express said they recently learned of the breach and had been closely monitoring accounts. Mr. Brady of MasterCard said CardSystems was "no longer storing the sensitive data." MasterCard said an unauthorized person was able to exploit the security vulnerability and gain access to CardSystems' network, exposing cardholders' names, account numbers and expiration dates as well as the security code, typically three or four digits also printed on the credit card. "The processing companies are hubs for millions of payment records," which could be infiltrated as information passes through, said Chris Hoofnagle, senior counsel for the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a digital rights group based in Washington. "It is the juiciest target for an individual who wants account numbers. It is a honeypot for identity thieves." MasterCard said other personal data that might contribute to identity theft, like Social Security numbers and dates of birth, was not stored on its cards and therefore not at risk. And it said credit card holders would not be liable for any fraudulent charges to their accounts.12Next Page >Correction: June 21, 2005, Tuesday:A front-page article on Saturday about a data-security breach at CardSystems Solutions, a credit card processor, misidentified the agency that oversaw a computer crime investigation called Operation Firewall, which ended with the arrests of data theft suspects last year. It was the Secret Service, not the F.B.I. 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