Uncategorised Archives | Page 5 of 5 | PCI Telecom

World’s Biggest Data Breaches

28th July 2015/in Uncategorised/by Chris Coe

Last week we discussed how a data breach could affect your business. This week we will be taking a look at some of the biggest data breaches to occur in the world.

Here are just three examples of the biggest data breaches to occur in the world so far:

Heartland Payment Systems

2008-2009: 130 million records compromised
Malware on Heartland’s network recorded card details as it arrived from retailers
Albert Gonzalez who was behind the hack was sentenced to 20 years in prison which was the longest sentence ever handed down for computer crime in a U.S. court

Target Stores

2013: 110 million records compromised
In December 2013 US retail giant Target’s payment card readers were hacked and around 40 million credit and debit card numbers were stolen
In January 2014, Target announced that the contact information of 70 million customers had also been compromised

Sony Online Entertainment Services

2011: 102 million records compromised
Attackers exposed login credentials, names, addresses, phone numbers and email addresses of users.
The PlayStation Network remained offline for three weeks after the breach and costs were estimated at around $171 million

Recent research shows that fresh credit card data is worth around £20 on average on the black market, making a large breach very profitable for someone who is seeking to sell this sort of information on.

Take a look at this interesting visualisation of the world’s biggest data breaches

To completely secure your customers’ details when they are making payment, you can check out our solutions here, or email us on [email protected]

How a data breach could affect your business

23rd July 2015/in Uncategorised/by Chris Coe

According to a survey conducted by Experian, two in five British adults have been affected by data breaches and the City of London Police state that around one in four UK adults have been victims of identity crime, losing on average £1,200 each.

Around 7 in 10 people think that the responsibility of protecting their information is the sole responsibility of a service provider. It is imperative for your customers and clients to perceive your business as trusted and secure. A survey conducted in 2014 found that 65 percent of respondents would never, or were unlikely to, shop or do business again with a company that had experienced a data breach where financial data (such as credit card information or bank account number) was stolen.

A 65 percent loss of regular custom would result in a huge dip in revenue for any organisation, and the truth is that this could easily become a reality for any business that is not protecting and securing their customers’ financial data.

It may be the case that you feel you are being effective at managing these risks by ensuring employees are searched, have no access to pens or paper, and call recordings are being blanked out. This method, however, raises further difficulties in that it can lead to reduced staff morale, and is also an inefficient and time consuming way to remain compliant.

By using our PCI DSS solution, your employees will never have access to your customers’ financial data at any stage. A customer will be invited to dial in their card data and this will be hidden from an operator through the use of asterisks to mask the details.

Send us an e-mail today to find out how we can streamline this process and eliminate any risks or problems associated with financial data and compliance on: [email protected].

What is PCI DSS Compliance? The Basics

21st July 2015/in Uncategorised/by Chris Coe

Whilst it is obvious that PCI compliance is an important topic for businesses, it can also be incredibly complicated to understand. Before you can look into becoming compliant, it is essential that you have a basic understanding of what exactly PCI compliance is and also the requirements which has been set by the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS).

What is PCI compliance?

An easy-to-understand definition is a set of requirements that have been designed around protecting businesses that process, store, and transmit credit card information when customers make a purchase. These requirements were first set up by card provides Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express in 2004. They are now enforced by the PCI Security Standards Council.

Who exactly needs to be compliant?

It is the responsibility of any organisation that accepts credit or debit card payments to abide by the PCI DSS regulations.

Will this benefit the customers of a business?

By being PCI compliant, customers can be safe in the knowledge that their card details are being kept secure as your employees have no way of accessing or viewing their personal data. You can read more about the benefits to customers on our solutions page.

How do I go about ensuring my business is PCI DSS compliant?

You can contact us today, or download our free Compliance Guide to find out more about the solutions we can offer your business.