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Home » What is PCI? Understanding the Importance of PCI Compliance

What is PCI? Understanding the Importance of PCI Compliance

Find out why becoming PCI certified is important for your business, you and customers.

With the increase in data breaches , comes the increase in the number of rules and changes regarding PCI DSS. PCI DSS. For many companies, becoming PCI compliance is seen as an unnecessary task and the penalties breached companies face for failing to comply seems to fuel anger.

What’s the purpose of PCI’s DSS? Why should companies be worried about becoming PCI certified? What is the benefit from being compliant with the PCI DSS? We think so.

PCI compliance definition

The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is a standard written in developed by the top card companies and maintained through the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SSC). It is the PCI DSS contains technical requirements that protect and secure card data throughout processing storage, handling, and transmission. Any business that handles credit card information regardless of their size or processing method are required to comply with these standards and be PCI certified.

Secures business data

It is essential to safeguard the information of your company as well as your employees. While you might be taking care of physical security for your business but are you spending enough time to safeguard your data electronically? Between malware-related threats, remote-access attacks, as well as social engineering attacks, it’s crucial to take the appropriate security measures to ensure that your computers as well as servers, networks, and computers safe.

The primary goal of the PCI DSS was to safeguard the data on your card from hackers and thieves. By adhering to this standard, you can ensure that your data is safe and avoid expensive data breaches, and also protecting your employees as well as your customers.

Increases confidence of customers

Would you visit an establishment knowing that your credit card details could be stolen? Most likely not.

The confidence of your customers can affect the extent to which your financial year is successful or not. Customers are less likely to invest in your company when they aren’t confident that you’ll keep their personal information secure. A majority of US adults would not return to an organization after a data breach. If you are breached or if your customers don’t feel sure about your security, you may lose your business.

Being PCI-compliant and promoting this to your customers shows your customers that you’re committed to security and are making every effort to ensure that their personal information is secure. This gives the customer (and you) some security.

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Guard your clients

Your customers trust you with their credit card information when they conduct transactions within your company. If you are breached, it’s not just you who is affected. The data of your clients’ credit cards must be secured by your company. Your responsibility is to keep your clients’ data secure while within your control.

Be aware that if you not safeguard your customers’ information, you could be subject to fines and lawsuits, particularly if you claim to have told that your business was safe.

Security standard

PCI DSS PCI DSS provides a baseline of security requirements to aid businesses in determining what they need to do and where to begin with their security plan.

A lot of companies we talk to aren’t sure how to start with information security. Many may believe that locking the doors of their business is sufficient, while others might not be aware of the necessity of securing their information. The aim is to minimize security breaches, and following the 12 requirements will give you a solid foundation.

The PCI DSS provides a standard that all businesses can and must follow. The good thing is that the standard has specific rules for various businesses according to the size, type, and method of storing data from cards, and so on.

It helps you to avoid lawsuits and fines.

If you are hacked If you are hacked, you will not only have to deal with the loss of information, but you could also face lawsuits and fines from other companies and customers.

An excellent example can be found in an example is the Wyndham Hotel breach. After being attacked three times, Wyndham Hotel was sued by the Federal Trade Commission because they claimed they were secured after each breach. The lawsuit was settled with an agreement, but it demonstrates the consequences can be incurred in the case of a data breach.

Other fines could be incurred through third-party lawsuits, customer lawsuits, fines from the government, card brand fines and many more.

If you’re PCI certified, you’ll be able to lower the amount of fines you pay and also reduce the number of lawsuits and the liability that your business could face.

Reduces the costs of a data breach

Data security breaches can cause a lot of damage in both cash and confidence of customers. It’s the cost of replacing the credit card, paying for fines, and paying for compensations for the losses that customers lost in addition to audits and investigation costs. All of this adds up quickly.

For many companies the data breach can quickly shut them down for good. Target was lucky to have sufficient funds and revenue to cover the cost, but many companies aren’t so fortunate.

Being compliant with the PCI DSS will help reduce costs by helping prevent data breaches from happening in the first place and also to avoid fines. If you can prove that you were in compliance, penalties won’t be as severe even if you didn’t make the effort.

Make sure you are PCI compliant!

Although many companies may not believe that the PCI DSS as a necessity, it’s essential for both companies as well as their clients to adhere to the rules. In the end, they’re handling important information about their customers If that data should be stolen, it could have consequences that go beyond a simple theft.

Keep in mind that the PCI DSS is the absolute minimum you need to take to protect yourself from incidents that have occurred. It is essential to be in compliance with PCI DSS and work from there to address any issues that may be unique to your particular industry or.

Each PCI DSS requirement is there since a breach could have been avoided by having this security measure in place.

Spend the extra time and money to ensure your company is in compliance with PCI DSS. PCI DSS standard. In doing this you’re protecting your company employees, your customers, and even your brand.