Study: Companies continue to store forbidden data

By
Follow google news

Companies are storing credit-card verification codes and data contained on the magnetic strip even though both practices are banned by the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), according to a new study.

Study: Companies continue to store forbidden data
The figures show that 71 per cent of European and US businesses keep verification codes, while 57 per cent store information from magnetic strips.

The research, commissioned by RSA, also found that most companies choose to keep customer credit card numbers (81 per cent) and expiration dates (73 per cent) on file.

“PCI DSS is very clear about forbidding the storage of sensitive authentication data, such as the full magnetic stripe and the PIN block and most merchants understand that continuing to retain this data will cause serious problems in their audit results,” said Jim Melvin, vice-president of marketing and security solutions at RSA, in a statement.

“While many have defined a compelling business reason [such as analysing for fraud] to keep credit-card data, these organisations then face the significant challenges of protecting the information,” he added.

More than a quarter of respondents said identity and access management, as well as data encryption, were the biggest problems when trying to secure credit-card details.

The research also found that half of businesses said cutting the risk of a data breach was the greatest driver for complying with the PCI DSS standard. This was closely followed by credit-card company pressure (43 per cent) and potential fines (37 per cent).

The PCI DSS compliance deadline for some organisations is 30 September.

The study surveyed 677 organisations.


Got a news tip for our journalists? Share it with us anonymously here.
Copyright © SC Magazine, US edition
Tags:

Most Read Articles

Microsoft releases fix for flawed January security update

Microsoft releases fix for flawed January security update

Starlink faces high-profile security test in Iran crackdown

Starlink faces high-profile security test in Iran crackdown

Single Windows image drove RedVDS disposable cybercrime server business

Single Windows image drove RedVDS disposable cybercrime server business

Microsoft patches single-click Copilot data stealing attack

Microsoft patches single-click Copilot data stealing attack

Log In

  |  Forgot your password?