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Today’s bankcard networks are generally considered to be highly reliable and secure.

However, cardholder data is typically unencrypted – visible in clear text – as it leaves a merchant’s terminal and makes its way through the payments network.

At certain points in its journey, the data is potentially exposed – making it valuable prey for professional hackers who have developed increasingly sophisticated methods of hijacking it.

The numerous systems that have been compromised over the last several years are stark testimony to the success of these criminals.

Protecting sensitive cardholder and payment account information throughout the lifecycle of a transaction from card swipe through transmission to the card brands is the ultimate goal of end-to-end encryption.

We interview Steve Elefant to gain Heartland Payment Systems' perspective on end to end encryption.