Personal information is one of the most sought after, most liquid commodities in this digital age. As consumers become more and more aware of the dangers of digital transactions the importance of data security and storage will become more and more pronounced. Perhaps the biggest problem to face merchants right now is not that they are ignoring security measures. In fact, many of the merchants who have suffered some kind of security breach had spent huge amounts of time and resources on installing security systems. The problem was that these companies simply weren't prepared to deal with every area of possible threat. Some avenues may have been completely blocked, but others were unknowingly left wide open.

As more of these stories reach the public notice, merchants will eventually realize that improved data security and storage is just good business sense. At that point we might be able to trust a business to implement those measures on their own. Until then, though, the major credit card companies will rely on the PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) to encourage business to improve their security. The PCI DSS is a list of 12 requirements that any merchant that stores, processes, or transmits sensitive information must conform to. These requirements can be considered the necessary steps to improve your own data security and storage methods.

Begin by controlling the traffic that has access to your system by installing a firewall. Firewalls are devices that control the traffic in and out of a system and can block transmission that don't meet the specified security criteria. The next step is to change all the vendor supplied passwords that may have come with your security systems. Most of these passwords have already made it into the hacker community and are the first things they'll try as they attack your system. A merchant should change these as quickly as possible.

Once you have the cardholder data, you have to do everything you can to protect it. This includes encrypting all data and keeping stored data to a bare minimum. Physical and computer access to information and encryption keys must also be strictly controlled. But encryption of data stored on a system is not enough on its own. Not only must data be secured on both end points, but cardholder data must also be encrypted in transit. This is due to the fact that if a hacker can't get to your information while it's on your system, they could try to intercept, modify, or reroute it as it is sent.

Threats to your information don't only come from hackers. Viruses or accidents can crash or otherwise destroy your system, causing a loss of information. A merchant must install and keep anti-virus software up-to-date, and develop and maintain secure systems and applications. Or if you're using third part applications you must make sure that you install and necessary patches and updates. Access to cardholder data must be restricted to business need-to-know. A lot of trouble has happened in the past because too many people have access to a system. It's in these cases that access has a tendency to spread.

For everyone who has access to the system, a unique ID must be assigned. By doing so it will be easier to identify the cause of any problems that might happen. There's still a problem with physical access which must also be restricted. Unethical employees could cause problems, or a thief could physically walk out the door with your computers. This is something often overlooked in our digital age.

Monitoring, tracking, and logging must be strictly enforced. If your data security and storage measures happen to be compromised, this is the only way to ensure that you can rectify the problem. Regular testing is the next step. It's the only way to make sure you can find and plug any security holes before criminals can take advantage of them. And finally, you need to make sure everyone in your company is aware of these security measures and their own responsibility in keeping sensitive information safe.

By following these steps you will find a couple benefits waiting for you. The first is PCI compliance, which carries many of its own benefits. Second, you will be set to engender trust in your customers, who will be more willing to continue doing business with you.

The PCI DSS stresses the importance of information security in the modern age of high-speed transactions and technologically advanced criminals. If someone were to appropriate a customer's sensitive information illegally, they could do serious harm to that customer – and in the end, damage to your business as well.

Information security is a key component of many requirements of the PCI DSS. Customers now expect a certain level of security before they will trust you with their information. As more and more security breaches reach the public notice, customers will become more weary, and more savvy as to how they guard their important information. If they can't trust a merchant to guard their data, they will do it themselves, and that will most likely happen in the form of just not giving it out. And that's not good for any business.

Major principles of information security consist of maintaining confidentiality and integrity. Confidentiality implies that if a consumer entrusts sensitive data to you, you must do everything possible to protect it. This means that disclosure is not an option. For many transactions, personal information must be used. As a merchant you must not allow unauthorized disclosure whether accidental or on purpose.

The integrity of a system refers to business practices that do not allow any unauthorized personnel to create, modify, or delete any sensitive data. This loss of integrity can occur through various means, including malicious criminal activity, accidents through improper precautions, or viruses or other malware.

The PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) was created to help merchants achieve a sufficient level of information security and secure business practices. Any company that stores, transmits, or processes credit card information is required to become compliant or risk a range of fines and penalties.

There are 12 requirements to the PCI DSS, and each of them contribute to the integrity of your information security system.

You begin by installing a firewall to control the traffic that can get into your system. You must also be sure to change any vendor-supplied passwords that may have come as defaults on your system.

Next comes the protection of cardholder data. Information security can depend on strong encryption. This includes encryption on data stored on your system as well as data that is in transit.

Then, to guard against viruses and other invasive programs, you need to make sure you have updated anti-virus software and employ and maintain secure systems and applications.

Access to this critical data must also be strictly controlled. This means only people with a business need-to-know should have access, and each person who does have access must have a unique ID assigned to them. Physical access must also be restricted so criminals can't walk out with hard copies or hardware.

Tracking and logging procedures should also be implemented. This way, should your information security happen to be breached, you can discover how it was done, and set in motion the proper procedures to rectify the problem. And all these procedures also need to be regularly tested and updated.

Once these practices are in place, you are almost PCI compliant. You still have to maintain a policy that addresses information security. In other words, to maintain the integrity and confidentiality of personal information, you need to settle on the right practices and make sure that everyone in the company knows and understands their own responsibilities in preserving information security.

What is a PCI compliant business? In today's fast paced, digital environment, a company needs to keep up with current security measures or risk a wide range of problems. PCI compliance is a mandated standard that guides companies toward implementing sufficiently strong security measures.

However, becoming PCI compliant is more than just a nice suggestion. The Payment Card Industry saw what was happening in the e-commerce community, and knew that if large companies (or any companies for that matter) were to continue suffering security breaches, consumers could lose any or all confidence in shopping with credit cards.

In response to this threat to the industry, the five major credit card companies developed the PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) and any company that stores, transmits, or otherwise processes credit cards must be PCI compliant.

The Payment Card Industry has instituted a number of incentives to encourage companies to reach compliance. These incentives can include stiff fines and penalties, possibly the loss of the ability to accept credit cards at all, or protection from said penalties if a breach should occur after compliance.

But becoming a PCI compliant business can be a long and arduous road. There are over 200 individual security controls making up 12 requirements. These all cover different but necessary aspects of protecting your customers' important, sensitive data.

The requirements can range from something as simple as installing a firewall to something more broad and all-encompassing like "Protect cardholder data." That could mean anything, and has many controls to specify everything it includes.

So what is the point of becoming a PCI compliant business if it can be such a difficult process?

The point is actually quite simple. Consumers in this day and age are a suspicious bunch. Everyone knows they have to protect their personal information because personal information is one of the hottest, most liquid commodities for criminals to go after. If they are going to trust a business, they need to know that their information is safe.

But today's consumer is also not likely to spend the time and effort to research your business practices before making a purchase. They are much more likely to simply assume that you aren't as secure as you could be. It saves a lot of effort.

Or what if they actually did do a little research? If you don't have any sort of standard to live up to, all they have to go on is your word that you've taken all the necessary security precautions. Sometimes that's enough. Sometimes it isn't.

A PCI compliant business, on the other hand, can tell their customers that they are living up to a very high standard of security, and that they are subject to routine checks, audits, and tests to ensure that those security measures are maintained. Even if a consumer doesn't know or comprehend the full ramifications of what the PCI DSS actually entails, they can easily learn that it is a standard created by the credit card industry. In other words, the people who issued the very cards they are using are saying that these merchants are doing what they should to guard customers' personal information.

As we progress in this fast-paced, digital environment, consumer information is going to become a priority for everyone, from the customers to the merchants to the Payment Card Industry. Your choices, then, are to become a PCI compliant business now, or wait and see if your company can survive in the long run without customer trust.

The Payment Card Industry is very aware of the need for sufficient security measures, and they've instituted a number of fines and penalties to encourage merchants to become compliant. Though in truth, the PCI compliant business is one that did not need these encouragements in the first place. They are the business that recognized the PCI DSS as good for their customers as well as for their own success.