Forcht bank cards ensnared in Heartland security breach

Wednesday, January 21, 2009, 3:31pm EST
Forcht bank cards ensnared in Heartland security breach
Business First of Louisville

A potentially huge security breach at Heartland Payment Systems in New Jersey includes debit cards issued by a Kentucky bank – and could impact others.

One of those potential victims is Forcht Bank, a Lexington and Corbin, Ky.-based bank that has four Louisville branches. The bank said Tuesday, in a notice on its Web site, that it had been informed of the breach by its debit card processor. The breach would allow the hackers to create duplicate debit cards, Forcht said in the notice.

Heartland (NYSE: HPY) said in a Tuesday news release that its processing system was hacked sometime in 2008. It said it learned of the breach when it was alerted by Visa and MasterCard of “suspicious activity surrounding processed card transactions.” The company processes payments for more than 250,000 business locations nationwide.

Heartland also operates a large processing center in Jeffersonville.

Forensic auditors hired by Heartland discovered malware in the company’s system, according to the release. It said no Social Security numbers, PIN numbers, addresses or phone numbers were compromised.

But credit and debit cards issued by banks could potentially be stolen, the company suggested. Heartland has set up a Web site, www.2008breach.com , to provide information about the incident.

read more