John South, chief security officer at Heartland Payment Systems® (NYSE: HPY), one of the nation's largest payments processors, has been elected to the Board of Directors of the Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center (FS-ISAC), the only industry forum for collaboration on critical security threats facing the financial services sector. Serving a three-year term, South will help oversee the operation of the FS-ISAC and set direction for future information sharing and security initiatives that benefit the membership.

South is currently Heartland's liaison with security professionals in the FS-ISAC as Heartland contributes to, and collaborates with, the organization to help protect the payments and financial services ecosystem. In 2009, Heartland was instrumental in the formation of the Payments Processing Information Sharing Council (PPISC) - a group under the FS-ISAC umbrella - that fosters information sharing among industry leaders, organizations and government agencies.

Bill Nelson, FS-ISAC's president and CEO, said, "John's dedication to the information security profession is evidenced by his continued efforts to not just protect Heartland from attacks, but to warn and assist competing firms, users and other organizations that comprise the financial services industry. We welcome him to the Board and look forward to receiving his indispensable input regarding our new initiatives, enhanced services and growth over the next three years."

Bob Carr, chairman and CEO of Heartland payment Systems, added, "This is an outstanding achievement for John, who is widely recognized as one of the leading professionals in the IT business. His extensive experience and expertise in both the IT and financial services spaces have helped him build robust information security programs at Heartland, safeguarding our merchant customers and enterprise operations. I'm confident John will make valuable contributions to FS-ISAC operations as the group continues to work tirelessly to fight cybercrime and protect its member organizations and, ultimately, consumers."

In addition to this honor, South was recently named one of Computerworld's Premier 100 IT Leaders for 2012. He was also named Information Security Executive of the Year in the ISE® Central Awards and was a finalist in the ISE North America Awards.

An adjunct professor of digital forensics at the University of Dallas, South has been an active member of the U.S. Secret Service North Texas Electronic Crimes Task Force since its inception in 2003 and is the founding president of the FBI's North Texas Infragard Electronic Crimes Task Force.

About Heartland Payment Systems

Heartland Payment Systems, Inc. (NYSE: HPY), the fifth largest payments processor in the United States, delivers credit/debit/prepaid card processing, gift marketing and loyalty programs, payroll and related business solutions to more than 250,000 business locations nationwide. A FORTUNE 1000 company, Heartland is the founding supporter of The Merchant Bill of Rights, a public advocacy initiative that educates merchants about fair credit and debit card processing practices. The company is also a leader in the development of end-to-end encryption technology designed to protect cardholder data, rendering it useless to cybercriminals. For more detailed information, visit HeartlandPaymentSystems.com or follow the company on Twitter @HeartlandHPY and Facebook at facebook.com/HeartlandHPY.

About FS-ISAC

Launched in 1999, FS-ISAC was established by the financial services sector in response to 1998's Presidential Directive 63. That directive - later updated by 2003's Homeland Security Presidential Directive 7 - mandated that the public and private sectors share information about physical and cyber security threats and vulnerabilities to help protect the U.S. critical infrastructure. Constantly gathering reliable and timely information from its members, financial services providers, commercial security firms, government agencies, law enforcement and other trusted resources, the FS-ISAC is uniquely positioned to quickly disseminate physical and cyber threat alerts and other critical information to member firms. This information includes analysis and recommended solutions. For more information, visit www.fsisac.com.

Media Contacts:
Heartland Payment Systems
Michael J. LaCosta
Director of Public Relations
1-888-798-3131, ex. 2245
michael.lacosta@e-hps.com
or
Vault Communications
Leanne Scott Brown
610-455-2742
LBrown@VaultCommunications.com