An effective way to protect your payment data!
ACHIEVING PCI DSS LEVEL 1 IN 4 STEPS: THE GOLD STANDARD OF DATA SECURITY
CYBERSECURITY HIGH ON THE DIGITAL AGENDA
As cybercriminals become more advanced in their methods and tech- niques, international data regulations concerning data security have become stringent . These rigorous legislations pose a significant challenge for many organizations. Nowadays, all companies working with confidential data are expected to go that extra mile to guarantee the security of their data.
For companies in the fintech industry, data security is the core. After all, three-quarters of all data breaches occur out of financial motivations. Cybercriminals often target the transmission, processing, or storage of payment card data. Companies such as web shops, hotels, and corporate booking tools possess large quantities of sensitive data.
So, how can these organizations develop effective policies to protect this data?
To aid fintech organizations in achieving maximum data security, a consortium of major credit card companies has drawn up a directive. The PCI DSS standard of the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council consists of 12 payment card data security criteria. However, how do you implement a data security policy that effectively meets these 12 criterias? Moreover, how do you stay compliant with this data security gold standard without incurring high costs?
FACTS AND FIGURES
The Data Breach Investigations Report is drafted annually.
It provides a global analysis of all privacy breaches resulting from cybercrime. 76% of all data breaches had a financial motivation, and 68% of breaches were only discovered months after the violation.
WHAT DATA ARE TARGETED?
Of these breaches 15% occurred within the financial sector. More specifically, in 2018, there have been 598 incidents and 146 confirmed breaches. In the retail sector, far fewer incidents occurred, but the number of confirmed data breaches was higher: 169. In these sectors, payment data become a coveted target for cybercriminals. In 2018, within the finance sector, 34% of the confirmed breaches targeted payment data. In retail, this number accounted for.
E-COMMERCE
E-commerce is the most sought after sector for cybercriminals. With the introduction of online electronic payment systems, such as PayPal and iDEAL, the number of payment card fraud incidents has increased exponentially around the world.
According to the 2016 Nilson Report: In 2015, no less than $21 trillion was misappropriated. This trend is expected to continue in the next couple of years, to an estimated $31 trillion by 2020.
Card fraud worldwide
Global losses in $Bil. 2010–2020 with Cents per $100 of total volume
THE 12 CRITERIA OF PCI DSS
The gold standard for Credit Card Data Security
To protect organizations against payment card fraud executed by cybercriminals, a consortium of major credit card companies enacted a data security directive. The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is an information security standard for organizations that handle credit cards.
Since its conception in 2004, multiple versions of the PCI DSS directive have been issued. In January 2018, version 3.2.1 of the standard came into force. The most important principles of data security are captured in the 12 criteria. Companies engaged in the transmission, processing, or storage of payment card data are obliged to comply with these criteria.
ENSURING PCI DSS COMPLIANCE IN 4 CONCRETE STEPS
The PCI DSS directive offers a powerful tool for protecting your organization against data breaches.
But how do you implement a data security policy that effectively meets these 12 criteria?
To help you achieve PCI DSS compliance, Basefarm has developed a four-step plan that can be used by any company that handles payment data. From the evaluation of your infrastructure to continuous monitoring: these four steps are vital for every fintech company.
1. SCAN
Map out your IT environment. Make a blueprint of your IT environment using the 12 PCI DSS criteria. Concentrate on the vulnerabilities of your infrastructure. Is the firewall outdated? Are you experiencing problems with your antivirus software? Start with having a clear insight into your infrastructure
2. DEFINE YOUR SCOPE
Extend the analysis to your partners. Your company may be compliant with all the PCI DSS criteria, but this is insufficient when you are not engaging your partners in this process. Are you using common shared services, such as backup tools? Or are you investing in monitoring and scanning software? The security of your payment card data may be at risk if your partners are not compliant.
3. ACT
Draft an action plan that is based on the insights gained from mapping out your own IT infrastructure, and that of your partners. Make sure to invest in the security of vulnerable services, such as firewalls and cloud transfers. Also, engage your employees and adopt a human resources policy aimed at information security.
4. CHECK
Post implementation of the action plan, monitor the security of your IT environment 24/7. Every moment of vulnerability weakness presents enormous risks for the security of your client data. Invest in external audits performed by independent partners to guarantee the continuity of your data security policy.
LOOKING FOR A COMPREHENSIVE SOLUTION FOR YOUR ORGANIZATION?
Basefarm is one of the few service providers that are members of the PCI Council. Together with partners like Visa, American Express, and Mastercard, we reflect on concrete directives concerning data security.
As part of a select task force within the Council, we compile data security guidelines within the framework of cloud computing and mobile payment.
SIMPLE. COST- EFFECTIVE. COMPLIANT
As a member of the PCI Council, we have the expertise to offer a comprehensive solution for companies that are willing to invest in data security, but that don’t have the time or the means to establish a watertight system themselves. By linking up to the Basefarm Secure Platform, companies immediately meet the highest data protection standards in the industry:
PCI DSS Level 1.
With its Secure Platform, Basefarm assumes full responsibility for complying with international data regulations. Our dedicated team closely monitors the latest data security legislation amendments. Such amendments of laws and regulations are also implemented into our platform, directly. This ensures that your organization is always compliant with the most recent legislation.
OPT FOR AN END-TO-END SOLUTION!
The Basefarm Secure Platform offers a complete solution, saving you valuable time and resources while ensuring that your orgainisation is secure and compliant.
Safegaurd your organisation. Call our experts and discover the potential of the
Basefarm Secure Platform today.
