Amex Hit By Card Break-in, Too

Discover also likely victim; 8 million accounts placed at risk. American Express card holders were exposed during the same computer break-in which hit millions of Visa and MasterCard members, the company said Tuesday. Overall, 8 million accounts were said put at risk by the hack into a third-party credit card processing system, but with no outbreak of fraud, the companies said they were hopeful the account information had not actually been stolen. Separately, Discover said that its users were also recently exposed by a computer hack, but would not confirm it was the same incident. WHEN CONSUMERS swipe their credit cards at a checkout counter, their account number takes a long and winding path around a host of global networks that ultimately ensure the shop owner gets paid. It was one of the firms that push the account data through cyberspace that suffered a serious computer breach earlier this month, according to the credit card companies. It’s not clear exactly how many accounts were placed at risk, because the credit card firms aren’t releasing detailed figures, but MasterCard spokeswoman Christina Costa said a total of 8 million cardholders were exposed, including 2.2 million MasterCard accounts. A spokeswoman for Visa said about 3.4 million of that firm’s accounts were exposed. Full Story