Skip the navigation
)

Securing Card Data Isn't an Easy Sell

Retailers keeping customer info, despite new rules

December 19, 2005 12:00 PM ET

Computerworld - Recent data compromises, such as one involving the Sam's Club wholesale chain, highlight the challenges that credit card companies face in enforcing the security standards that went into effect last July for all businesses processing credit transactions.
Sam's Club, a division of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., said in a statement issued this month that it was investigating a security breach that had exposed credit card data belonging to an unspecified number of customers who purchased gas at the company's stations between Sept. 21 and Oct. 2.
Beyond saying that its internal systems and databases weren't compromised, Sam's Club didn't elaborate on how the card information was accessed. Last week, company officials didn't respond to repeated requests for comment.
But Corinne Sherman, vice president of card services at the Pennsylvania Credit Union Association in Harrisburg, said that based on alerts from MasterCard International Inc. and Visa U.S.A. Inc., Sam's Club appears to have been storing customer and account information from both tracks of the magnetic stripe on the back of cards. That information could be used by data thieves to create counterfeit cards that could then be used to commit fraud, Sherman said.
Especially troubling is the fact that a very large number of merchants still appear to be capturing and storing the full magnetic stripe information off credit and debit cards even though doing so violates the new Payment Card Industry (PCI) security standards, said Ann Davidson, payment systems risk manager at CUNA Mutual Group, a Madison, Wis.-based company that provides insurance and financial services to credit unions.
Of the more than 300 fraud alerts that MasterCard and Visa have each issued this year, the majority involved cases where magnetic stripe information was stored after a transaction, Davidson said.
"This is in direct violation of card association rules," Davidson said. "I would love to know why merchants are doing this." She added that CUNA Mutual has had several meetings with MasterCard and Visa to discuss the data storage issue.
In April, the insurer filed a lawsuit against BJ's Wholesale Club Inc. seeking to recover losses incurred as a result of a security breach that compromised 40,000 credit and debit cards. The lawsuit, which BJ's is contesting, alleges that the retailer stored account and customer information in violation of MasterCard's and Visa's regulations.
Many of the problems stem from the older point-of-sale systems that some merchants use to process card transactions, said Michael Petitti, a senior vice president at Ambiron TrustWave, a Chicago-based provider of security and PCI compliance services to the



What is Tech Briefcase?
TechBriefcase is a new, free service where IT Professionals can Search, Store and Share IT white papers and content like this. Learn more
Bookmark content
Speed up your research efforts with content across the web.
Search and Store
Find the white papers you need. Create folders for any topic.
View Anywhere
Open your briefcase on your iPhone, tablet or desktop. Share with colleagues.
Don't have an account yet?
Additional Resources
Security KnowledgeVault
WHITE PAPER
Security is not an option. This KnowledgeVault Series offers professional advice how to be proactive in the fight against cybercrimes and multi-layered security threats; how to adopt a holistic approach to protecting and managing data; and how to hire a qualified security assessor. Make security your Number 1 priority.

Read now.

Cut Communications Costs Once and for All
WHITE PAPER
New IP-based communications systems are being deployed by small and midsized businesses at a rapid rate. Learn how these organizations are enabling faster responsiveness, creating better customer experiences, speeding office or mobile interactions, and dramatically reducing existing communications costs.

Read now.

Security White Papers
Driving Secure Enterprise File Sharing and Syncing in the Enterprise
GroupLogic's new activEcho is the industry's only secure Enterprise File Sharing and Synching solution that balances the need for simplicity for the end...
The Enterprise File Sharing Option
Enterprises and IT departments need to address several critical security issues when considering file sharing and syncing products. Many of today's solutions do...
Security Strategies to Virtualizing Internet-Facing Applications
The IT organization at Intel has set a goal to transition their enterprise to a private cloud for their Office and Enterprise applications....
Cloud Security Planning Guide
Cloud security considerations span protecting hardware and platform technologies in the data center to enabling regulatory compliance and defending cloud access through different...
Cloud Security Vendor Round Table
This vendor round table guide will help you to evaluate different cloud technology vendors and service providers based on a series of questions...
All Security White Papers
Security Webcasts
Live Webcast
Data Privacy and Protection in Production Environments: New Research from Ponemon Institute
Date: Wednesday, June 13, 2012, 1:00 PM EDT / 10:00 AM PDT

In a recent study conducted by Ponemon Institute, fifty-five percent of respondents...
Data Privacy and Protection in Production Environments: New Research from Ponemon Institute
Date: Wednesday, June 13, 2012, 1:00 PM EDT / 10:00 AM PDT

In a recent study conducted by Ponemon Institute, fifty-five percent of respondents...
Security Certifications 101 - BlackBerry and all those acronyms what do they mean and why they matter?
FIPS, Common Criteria, CAPS, AISEP, NFC, NIST, Fraunhofer SIT, CESG, DSD - these are just some of the government and industry certifications which...
BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 Security Overview
The presentation provides an overview of BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 security capabilities and features, including: BlackBerry® Balance™ technology, BlackBerry® Bridge, data-at-rest protection, and...
BlackBerry NFC Security Overview
The presentation on NFC security will provide an overview of the security protections built into the BlackBerry platform to protect users, application developers...
Playing Defense: Staying on Top of Your Disaster Recovery Game
When it comes to disaster recovery, rapidly growing data volumes, distributed computing models, and new technologies all combine to present an ever-changing playing...
All Security Webcasts
Newsletter Sign-Up

Receive the latest news test, reviews and trends on your favorite technology topics

Choose a newsletter
  1. View all newsletters | Privacy Policy
IT Jobs