The credit card system's weak link?

The credit card system's weak link? - Technology & Science - MSNBC.com: "The criminal exploit that exposed 40 million credit card accounts to possible fraud is shedding light on an arcane but sensitive piece of the financial industry: the hundreds of companies that process transactions between merchants and card issuers.
While enormous in scope, the breach disclosed Friday at CardSystems Solutions Inc. was by no means the first such attack on a card processor.
Many analysts believe that banks and credit card companies, despite working hard to tighten their own security, have failed to force payment processors to maintain similar standards.
'They're not being watched carefully enough,' said Avivah Litan, an analyst with Gartner Inc."