Data Security Breaches: Who's to Blame?

t's appalling to me the immense volume of monetary and personnel resources expended in attempting to secure data using off-the-shelf technology that's fraught with vulnerabilities. It's a no-win war. I'm for data security; however, what's being done to catch and punish those responsible for the breach? Virtually nothing that I'm aware of. Appropriate punishment is the only deterrent. To me, public hanging is not out of the realm of appropriateness since those in the world who would consider breaching security for fun or profit need to see how they will be dealt with once caught.

Broadcast it on TV, stream it over the Internet. This is a terrorist act to be dealt with accordingly. While some readers may think me extreme, I can['t] wait for their response when, through no fault of theirs, their identity is stolen or their company is hacked. The responsibility and burden is on the potential victim, guilty before a crime is even committed. Then, in spite of their best efforts to protect their data, once breached they're victimized again by the card Associations and our legal system. So, is the goal to bankrupt U.S. businesses? The Green Sheet articles clearly note that the cardholders being the primary culprit in how cardholder data is obtained with security breaches are far down the line. When does the cardholder become accountable for their carelessness and stupidity?

Merchants and even third-party processors like CardSystems Solutions Inc. are fed up with bearing that burden. I'd venture that the truth be known, the card Associations themselves have been breached; but we'll never know. Again, I support data security, but where's the balance?

Biff Matthews
CardWare International

Surcharging on Debit Transactions

Is a merchant allowed to surcharge for debit use? How can the debit be separated from credit? Any info from The Green Sheet would be appreciated.

Starsales

Starsales:

We asked Contributing Editor to The Green Sheet, Patti Murphy, to assist us with the answer to your question. Her reply was:

If the transaction is on a Visa or MasterCard check card, the answer is no. Merchant surcharging for online debit is at the discretion of the supporting network, such as STAR and PULSE.

Different networks have different rules for surcharging ATM and POS debit transactions. STAR, for example permits debit card surcharging at the POS provided all other forms of electronic payments accepted by that retailer are also surcharged, according to a spokeswoman for that network.