Best Practices for Businesses with Internet Merchant Accounts

With lawmakers passing new laws to reform credit card companies, the industry is at high alert, particularly where security for internet merchant accounts is concerned. Credit card companies are putting forth efforts to self-regulate, obviating the need for lawmakers to impose regulations which may not be in the industry’s best interest. To this end, the major credit card providers have formed the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council’s Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) to provide an effective and uniform standard for data security that every business with an internet merchant account must comply with. PCI DSS has been accepted as the de facto standard by government regulators, with slight modifications that may vary from state to state. If your business has an internet merchant account, you must have a written PCI DSS plan that is clear and easy for you and all your employees to follow.

PCI DSS recommends several practices to enhance the security of your company’s computer systems and customer’s data to protect this sensitive data from theft by fraudsters such as identity thieves. For the most part, breaches in data security can be traced to employee negligence–you should ensure that only authorized personnel have access to this data, and that they are properly trained. Avoid the use of wireless networks for sending sensitive data; wireless networks are more susceptible to interception and manipulation by data thieves. Instead of having all your data on a single server, set up a separate server to keep your most sensitive data on, and be sure to control both electronic as well as physical access to this server. By applying these guidelines, you can enhance the security of your business and protect your customers from unauthorized access to their sensitive data.

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