Taking a firm stance on the security of partially outsourced e-commerce sites. When the new PCI DSS version 3.0 Self Assessment Questionnaires (SAQs) were released earlier this year, my colleagues and I closely read them to understand the potential impact on self-assessing merchants as well … Read more
On December 27, Target issued an official statement about hackers’ access to encrypted debit card PIN data along with the payment card numbers accessed during its breach event. Some have wondered whether Target’s claims regarding the encrypted PIN codes are accurate. Although Target has not provided us … Read more
Here’s a news headline that is currently scaring security executives and causing a few sleepless nights: “NSA Has Hacked 50,000 Computers Globally.” What does this have to do with PCI compliance, you might ask? If the National Security Agency can easily hack into private computer … Read more
In recent years, the annual PCI Community Meetings (both here in the U.S. and abroad) have served as an important forum for discussing and gaining a stronger understanding of payment data security best practices and requirements. With the planned release of version 3.0 of both … Read more
According to the most recent Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report, hackers are apparently spending a lot more time discovering the latest hip, trendy restaurants. But they are not spending money on artisanal cheeses, free-range chicken, or chickpea and orzo salad with Piquillo pepper vinaigrette. Nope. They … Read more
The recent news of security breaches among major social networking sites reignites the ongoing dilemma of the password. As humans, we have the natural tendency to simplify its content and use. Unfortunately, hackers and data thieves know this and use it to their advantage. Perhaps … Read more