According to a study conducted by Solidcore Systems, Emagined Security, and Fartrex, the lack of being PCI Compliant could potentially exceed the cost of being PCI Compliant by 20 times!
In James Barrow’s book on achieving PCI compliance, he states that the research study showed that “not becoming compliant with the standard (Data Security Standard – or DSS) could lead to additional costs posed by a data breach.”
For one, the SSC (Security Standards Counsel) can elevate your business to Level 1 status following a breach or compromise. That means that you will have to do everything a Level 1 has to do despite the lower level of transactions that you process. Of course, the biggest expense with this option is the previously unnecessary need to hire a Qualified Security Assessor or or pay someone inside your organization to conduct an Internal Audit if it is signed by an officer of the company.
Also, Barrow continues, “a breach may require further expenditures related to customer notifications and providing credit monitoring services. Finally, there are the expenses that may result from litigation, as well as the unknown variable of the cost to the company in loss of customer confidence.”
So, you decide, you can scan your site for vulnerabilities against hackers and increase customer confidence by displaying trust seals. Or you can leave your site open to hackers and outside attacks and potentially face the swollen and costly revised requirements of the Payment Card Industry.
To put it in monetary terms, you can pay almost $10,000 a year to repair the damage caused by security breaches from hackers and outside attacks. Or, you can pay a reliable scanning company about $500 a year for daily vulnerability scanning and PCI Compliant Reports.
Included in the yearly price you will receive a Security Scanned trust seal which will grow your business significantly. In fact, the best trust seal companies offer a “Double Your Money Back Guarantee” if your sales/conversion rates do not increase simply by displaying their seals.
With that knowledge, getting a daily scan and a seal to show online consumers that your site is safe seems like a no-brainer. Don't believe me or the research study? Ask the thousands of website owners who have been hacked! It is cheaper to be PCI Compliant than to not be PCI Compliant.
Author: Aaron Brandley is an independent website specialist. To learn more about PCI Compliance, go to www.pci-compliance.us. To purchase PCI Compliant website security scanning and trust seals, visit www.go.Trust-Guard.com.
Showing posts with label security scan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label security scan. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Security Scans Lead to Trust Seals Which Lead to Increased Revenue!
There are many trust seals on the market today. That's because online consumers have never been so cautious about shopping online as they are now.
After Trust Guard has scanned our site for over 30,000 vulnerabilities, we need to take full advantage of our now safe site by displaying Security Scanned Verification Seals.
It makes sense for us as website owners to remove all the fear, doubt, and suspicion that accompanies making a buying decision online. When there is no hesitation to do what we want our online visitors to do, our conversion rates will increase.
Online consumers worry about the security of our websites. They ask: Is this website safe? Will I get a virus? Do they scan daily for vulnerabilities so that hackers won't get in and steal my personal information?
They worry about the privacy of the our websites. They ask: If I give them my email address, will I wake up tomorrow with 50 emails from companies I've never heard of?
They worry about our integrity as business owners. They ask: Is this a trustworthy business? If there is an issue with my purchase, will I be able to contact someone?
There are several ways that trust seals give consumers the peace of mind they need to trust us as website owners. They can see on the seals the date of the last time that our websites were verified. Also included on the trust seals are the names of our websites - customized exclusively for each particular company.
They can click on the seals and view the certificates that the trust seal company provides that show when our websites have been verified. The certificates will also show that the websites have passed the daily vulnerability scans – which everyone knows is the first line of defense in keeping our websites safe from hackers and outside attacks.
Online consumers can also view our phone, email, and physical address on the certificates, so that they know that they will be able to get a hold of us should the need arise. The trust seal company also provides their information, so that if for some reason we as website owners do not resolve a disagreement with a customer in a timely fashion, they can help.
It's really pretty simple. When we as website owners increase the amount of traffic that trusts us, more people will do what we want them to do. One of the most productive ways to achieve high levels of trust with online consumers is to display trust seals on our websites.
After Trust Guard has scanned our site for over 30,000 vulnerabilities, we need to take full advantage of our now safe site by displaying Security Scanned Verification Seals.
It makes sense for us as website owners to remove all the fear, doubt, and suspicion that accompanies making a buying decision online. When there is no hesitation to do what we want our online visitors to do, our conversion rates will increase.
Online consumers worry about the security of our websites. They ask: Is this website safe? Will I get a virus? Do they scan daily for vulnerabilities so that hackers won't get in and steal my personal information?
They worry about the privacy of the our websites. They ask: If I give them my email address, will I wake up tomorrow with 50 emails from companies I've never heard of?
They worry about our integrity as business owners. They ask: Is this a trustworthy business? If there is an issue with my purchase, will I be able to contact someone?
There are several ways that trust seals give consumers the peace of mind they need to trust us as website owners. They can see on the seals the date of the last time that our websites were verified. Also included on the trust seals are the names of our websites - customized exclusively for each particular company.
They can click on the seals and view the certificates that the trust seal company provides that show when our websites have been verified. The certificates will also show that the websites have passed the daily vulnerability scans – which everyone knows is the first line of defense in keeping our websites safe from hackers and outside attacks.
Online consumers can also view our phone, email, and physical address on the certificates, so that they know that they will be able to get a hold of us should the need arise. The trust seal company also provides their information, so that if for some reason we as website owners do not resolve a disagreement with a customer in a timely fashion, they can help.
It's really pretty simple. When we as website owners increase the amount of traffic that trusts us, more people will do what we want them to do. One of the most productive ways to achieve high levels of trust with online consumers is to display trust seals on our websites.
All Websites Should Follow the PCI Data Security Standard
All PCI compliance security standards effect e-commerce sites that gather credit/debit card information, but five of the six categories from the Data Security Standard also effect non e-commerce sites. In other words, when it comes to PCI Compliance, everyone who owns or operates a website should pay attention.
Build and Maintain a Secure Network
Maintain a Vulnerability Management Program
Implement Strong Access Control Measures
Regularly Monitor and Test Networks
Maintain a Information Security Policy
All e-commerce businesses that accept payment cards are required to do two things: Quarterly PCI Scanning on all external-facing IP addresses, and a Report on Compliance or Self-Assessment Questionaire concerning PCI SSC Compliance and the PCI DSS.
PCI Scanning (also known as PCI Security Scanning or Vulnerability Scanning) involves having a PCI Approved Scanning Vendor (ASV) scan each public e-commerce IP address. However, if customers are transferred to a third-party shopping cart hosted by your shopping cart provider during the checkout process, then those IP addresses should be scanned as well.
Build and Maintain a Secure Network
Maintain a Vulnerability Management Program
Implement Strong Access Control Measures
Regularly Monitor and Test Networks
Maintain a Information Security Policy
All e-commerce businesses that accept payment cards are required to do two things: Quarterly PCI Scanning on all external-facing IP addresses, and a Report on Compliance or Self-Assessment Questionaire concerning PCI SSC Compliance and the PCI DSS.
PCI Scanning (also known as PCI Security Scanning or Vulnerability Scanning) involves having a PCI Approved Scanning Vendor (ASV) scan each public e-commerce IP address. However, if customers are transferred to a third-party shopping cart hosted by your shopping cart provider during the checkout process, then those IP addresses should be scanned as well.
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