MasterCard Launches Solution to Protect Against Cyber Hacking of Banks and Processors in Europe

MasterCard announced the launch of Safety Net in Europe. Safety Net is a global tool that reduces the impact of cyberhacking of banks and processors. It is designed to use the power of MasterCard’s global network, to identify unusual behavior and potential attacks – often, even before the bank or processor is even aware. 

Around the world consumers consider safety and security of their payments a key priority when shopping, which is why MasterCard has been working to ensure payments and the data connected to payments are safe, wherever they are. The company does this through a number of tools, in a multi-layer approach that works in partnership with issuers, acquirers, retailers and consumers.

Ajay Bhalla, President, Enterprise Security Solutions, MasterCard states, “Safety Net is the latest in a strong line up of network level defenses available to issuers in their fight against major cyberattacks. With Safety Net, we are screening billions of transactions twenty four hours a day and seven days a week, protecting our issuers against events like a cash out attacks and misuse of payment accounts.”

MasterCard will automatically enroll issuers for this protective service to ensure to make the latest security tools as easy to deploy as possible. Safety Net covers all MasterCard, Maestro and Cirrus processed debit, credit and commercial transactions and is already integrated into the MasterCard global payment networkwhich means issuers do not need to take any action to participate.

Safety Net is an external layer of security complementing the issuing banks’ own tools and defenses, adding a new level of protection into the payment system without disruption. It monitors different channels and geographies, and provides the most appropriate level of support for each market and partner business by using sophisticated algorithms.  Safety Net is another advanced tool in MasterCard’s priority area of safety and security.

With its global view of payment transactions, the MasterCard Network can identify potentially catastrophic fraud problems in real-time and invoke targeted measures to provide protective controls on an issuer’s behalf – by for example providing selective authorization controls to block specific transactions based on multiple criteria.

Bhalla continued, “Safety and security is the number one priority for MasterCard. We are committed to always being one step ahead of criminals – innovating and working on your behalf to detect, prevent and provide a more rapid response to help minimize fraud.”

As a leader in payments security, MasterCard is focused on making transactions and our network safe for all stakeholders in the payments ecosystem. We have built the next generation of tools and services capable of handling the evolution of cyber threats, so we are always one step ahead of criminals. Security is not a separate function but integrated into everything that we do from the very beginning whether it’s creating new technology or protecting our internal networks.

Through the launch of Safety Net MasterCard is taking further steps to secure the payment ecosystem.