Retailers Urged To Get Compliant - Compliant Merchants Less Likely to Suffer from Credit Card Breach

As retail credit card breaches continue to rise with disturbing regularity, applying precautionary measures and preparing ahead of time makes it easier to avoid disaster.  So warns, credit card discovery audit specialists’, PixAlert, who this week are participating at the PCI European Community Meeting which takes place in Dublin from Mon22-Wed 24^th October.

It’s been demonstrated that merchants who comply with Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) are less likely to be victims of cardholder data breaches.  Within the 2011 PCI DSS Ponemon Institute survey report, 64% of the 670 participating merchants did not suffer a breach involving credit card data during 2010 while 38 % of non-compliant merchants reported breaches.

According to Gerard Curtin, CEO of PixAlert, ‘although PCI DSS has been around since 2006, many retailers remain non-compliant, leaving them vulnerable to breach.  Businesses are often overwhelmed by the PCI-compliance process which can appear more complex that it actually is.  A leak exposing transactional credit card holder data (CHD) can have long term damaging impact on businesses.  Alongside penalties imposed by card brands for non-compliance, the consequences  can include legal action, damage to reputation and ultimately loss of business through diminished customer confidence and loyalty’ stated Mr Curtin.  

The PCI DSS standard (PCI DSSS) which is supported by the five major credit card companies is a way of measuring a level of security fitness and represents a set of principles that ensure a customer’s sensitive payment information is handled, stored and transmitted securely.  The standard is relevant to every retailer that takes card payments and helps ensure that cardholders’ details are kept out of the hands of data thieves and potential loss or leakage. 

‘Most retailers invest considerably in stock control procedures to protect assets and improve operating efficiencies.  So, should the protection of valuable personal and confidential credit card data be treated any differently?’ commented Gerard Curtin.  ‘Essentially, before a business can start to secure sensitive card holder data (CHD) the first and most critical step is to locate where CHD is stored within an entire data environment.  It helps businesses understand the scale of their CHD exposures, resolve issues and monitor procedures in a structured process while achieving and maintaining successful PCI DSS compliance’.

The road to PCI compliance may be challenging, but retailers need to start taking ‘stock’ of their security measures by becoming compliant and realising the essential role that this investment plays in safeguarding consumer data and delivering even greater long term operating and service benefits to customers. PixAlert are exhibiting at booth 35 at the PCI European Community Meeting in the RDS, Dublin from 22-24^th October 2012 and will present a special interest group (SIG) on CHD discovery to the conference on Monday 22 Oct at 3pm.  

For further information, contact Niamh Hayes, Marketing Advisor, PixAlert 01-8994750

About PixAlert

PixAlert’s PCI Automated SCOPE Assessment solution provides a fully automated mechanism to find and document where card holder data (CHD) is stored on any part of the network. It helps businesses understand the scale of their credit card vulnerabilities, enabling them to review, remediate, manage and continuously protect and monitor their environment while creating a successful path to achieving and maintaining compliance and proactive credit card security.

www.pixalert.com

Sources: Ponemon/Imperva 2011 PCI DSS Compliance Survey Trends Report

Issue Date: 22^nd October 2012