About Thawte

• Contact Us
• Worldwide Sites
• Why Thawte

The rise of e-commerce and digital shops has created new wrinkles for organizations concerned about protecting customer information. With cybercriminals finding new ways to crack company defenses, the onus is on business leaders to shore up their security measures whenever possible. For it's part, the PCI Security Standards Council has attempted to drive progress in this area by imposing industry regulations detailing how customer data should be stored and protected. Businesses that fail to comply with these guidelines may face significant fines that could cut deeply into their bottom line. There are many steps that companies can take to ensure that they remain compliant with the latest PCI regulations.

Help Net Security recently posted several tips for business leaders who are worried about remaining compliant with security standards. The source highlighted the immediate need for auditing, documentation and system monitoring to identify any potential omissions in an organization's cybersecurity strategy. Every aspect of network and system security should be evaluated and subjected to the harshest criticism. There's no room for error when it comes to cybersecurity. PCI representatives are unlikely to be lenient with a business that violates the organization's regulations out of ignorance or negligence. With that in mind, business leaders should take every opportunity to spot vulnerabilities and correct them.

Choose the right vendors
PCI Compliance Guide contributor Tim Thomas urged businesses to take into account which vendors they purchase software and other assets from as these organizations can have a major impact on the safety of customer data. These vendors may include marketing firms, cloud hosting companies and payment gateway providers.

"As an owner of a business that is subject to the PCI DSS, you must be fully aware of not only who your service providers are, but how they can impact the security of your customers' credit and debit card information," Thomas wrote. "Specifically, you should be able to list each of your business's service providers, affirm the services they provide and confirm that each provider listed is, in fact, PCI compliant as is required by the PCI DSS."

Business leaders should take the same care when choosing cybersecurity providers. The quality of these vendors can mean the difference between a blocked attack and a costly breach that affects an organization's bottom line for years to come. That is why it's absolutely critical that company decision-makers do their homework and only enlist the assistance of the best cybersecurity firms around. Whether they need to shore up SSL encryption, network defenses or antivirus, a best of breed approach is always a wise choice. This will go a long way toward staying compliant with industry guidelines like those presented by PCI.

Don't risk violating data security regulations. Get SSL solutions today to protect sensitive in-transit information.

corporate office

Thawte
The Gateway
Century Lane
Century City, 7441
Cape Town
South Africa

Postal Address:
P O Box 15986
Panorama 7500
Cape Town
South Africa

Call: +353 1 793 9141
Fax: +27 21 819 2950