Using predefined profiles for data protected under laws and standards such as PCI DSS and GDPR, but also allowing customized definitions, DLP solutions identify, monitor and control sensitive data. Whether through neglect or malicious intent, insiders are one of the biggest root causes of data leaks.Ĭredit card and transaction processing companies can use Data Loss Prevention (DLP) solutions to protect data from internal threats without negatively impacting employee productivity. However, while safeguarding data and systems from cyberattacks is a major part of any cybersecurity endeavor, credit card and transaction processing companies should not neglect the second most significant contributing factor to data breaches: employees themselves. Address internal threatsĬybersecurity is often equated with the need to protect company networks against external threats. So how can credit card and transaction processing companies better protect their data and avoid such losses? Let’s take a closer look.

According to IBM and the Ponemon Institute’s 2021 Cost of a Data Breach Report, the finance sector to which credit card and transaction processing companies belong, have the second-highest data breach costs of any industry: $5.72 million/data breach, with lost business being the biggest contributing cost factor. Therefore, data security is not only a passing concern for credit card and transaction processing companies but a vital aspect of their business. Together with cardholder information, they also collect massive amounts of personally identifiable information (PII), including names, addresses, and phone numbers, which are protected under data protection laws such as the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). They can also have their relationship with their bank permanently terminated and wind up on the Merchant Alert to Control High-Risk ( MATCH) list, which means they would never be allowed to process card payments again.Īs such, PCI DSS compliance is paramount for credit card and transaction processing companies, but it is not the only standard they need to comply with. Organizations found to be non-compliant with PCI DSS requirements face fines of up to $100,000/month and increased transaction fees. All companies wishing to accept card payments over the phone, in person, or online must be PCI DSS compliant. PCI DSS is an international proprietary information security standard developed by the PCI Security Standards Council for organizations that handle cardholder information for the world’s biggest card schemes: American Express, Discover, JCB, MasterCard, and Visa.

Chief among them is the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), which has been adopted by financial institutions across the world as a general standard to help protect payment systems from breaches, fraud, and theft of cardholder data. Credit card and transaction processing companies, as their very name suggests, work with sensitive credit cardholder information on a daily basis and are subject to strict data security compliance requirements as a consequence.

Transaction processing system vendors