TJX Hacking Incident Shows Cracks In Payment Card Systems

GLBA
Identity Theft
Information Security Technology
Risk Management

The revelation by TJX Companies, owner of T.J. Maxx and other retail brands, that at least 45.7 million credit and debit cards were compromised over several years highlights anew the risks associated with processing card transactions and the need to protect the information they contain.The breach eclipses the previous disclosure of 40 million compromised payment card records by CardSystems in 2005. Intruders gained access to TJX’s computer systems beginning in 2005 and continuing until January 2007. Although debit card PINs weren’t compromised, unencrypted magnetic stripe data, also known as “track 2 data,” was stolen on transactions that occurred before September 2003, the company said.

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