Heartland Payment Systems, one of the largest credit card processors in North America, is finally being called to the carpet for the apparent lapses in Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) that contributed to the largest data breach of 2008, perhaps even the largest breach ever considering the full extent of the exposure has yet to be determined.

Called to the carpet sort of, anyway; the sanctions and guidance laid out by Visa seem a little lackluster when weighed against the severity and duration of the breach.

Given that Visa is now considered the most likely of several candidates for inclusion in the Dow Industrial Average, taking up slack from soon to be sidelined Citigroup and Bank of America, it is not surprising that they do not want to call too much attention to the situation.

See the full report at Information Security Resources.