SANTA ANA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Heartland said today it was notified of a burglary that took place at the Heartland Payroll office in Santa Ana, Calif. The payroll office, formerly Ovation Payroll, is in the process of being integrated into Heartland’s information security and physical security systems and processes. Among the items stolen were TVs, LCD panels and 11 password-protected desktop computers. Of these 11 computers, Heartland suspects that four computers contained personally identifiable information (PII).
The four computers were not connected to any other Heartland office, business, system or server, but may have contained PII on some of the individuals serviced from that payroll office. Heartland has notified local, state and federal authorities and has also personally alerted approximately 2,200 individuals that their personal information may have been affected by the burglary.
In addition, the company has put an aggressive system in place to monitor for any malicious activity on the personal accounts of those impacted. To date, there is no indication that any of this information has been accessed or used in a fraudulent manner or that the thieves intended to access the information. Regardless, we take this incident seriously.
As part of our ongoing commitment to security, Heartland has already encrypted most computers, and as we integrate acquisitions, Heartland is actively working to encrypt any remaining computers in every office that may have access to, or house, PII or payment data. Security has been, and will continue to be, the foundation of everything we do at Heartland. We deeply regret this incident and apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.
About Heartland
Heartland Payment Systems, Inc. (NYSE:HPY), one of the largest payment processors in the United States, delivers credit/debit/prepaid card processing and security technology through Heartland Secure™ and its comprehensive Heartland breach warranty. Heartland also offers point of sale, mobile commerce, e-Commerce, marketing solutions, payroll solutions, and related business solutions and services to more than 400,000 business and educational locations nationwide.
A FORTUNE 1000 company, Heartland is the founding supporter of Merchant Bill of Rights, a public advocacy initiative that educates merchants about fair credit and debit card processing practices. Heartland also established Sales Professional Bill of Rights to advocate for the rights of sales professionals everywhere.
