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Are YOU prepared for a restaurant point of sale credit card PCI security audit?
Credit card industry focuses on restaurant security measures
The credit card industry came down hard on tens of thousands of restaurants that have not fully protected diners' credit card data from potential theft, with Visa, MasterCard and financial organizations that process electronic payment over recent months sending warnings letters and holding seminars. Such moves are aimed at forcing restaurants into taking additional steps to guard credit card information.
On the side of companies that process card transactions, there are thousands of restaurants that are not fulfilling the the security rules set by the credit card industry. For as long as a food service establishment takes plastic, they are required to follow a set of security regulations instituted by Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover.
Data recorded by Visa indicates that since January 2005, around 40% of the incident wherein criminals gain unauthorized access to credit card info is made up of restaurants -- providing the largest percentage of incidents for a merchant category.
Separately, AmbironTrustWave, a Chicago-based data security auditor for merchants, reported that 62 percent of the security violations it witnessed during the prior 18 months occurred in the restaurant industry.
These violations includes various security lapses such as the poor guarding of wireless networks -- which easily enable thieves to access sensitive information using a laptop from the parking lot -- and lax systems that makes it a lot easier for an unethical staff to grab credit card data.
Mostly, consumers are unaware when their credit card data is in danger. Not all security breaches produced successful fraud, and most merchants do not recognize these incidents unless there is a significant likelihood that a major fraud will take place or has already been identified. In addition, credit card issuers usually do not close a customer's account unless fraud has taken place.
Restaurateurs may have a rough time with credit card security rules, since the regulations can be difficult for smaller merchants. The National Restaurant Association trade group says that it hears from restaurant owners who thought they complied with rules, but found out their systems were not functioning properly and were penalized.
An amount of $100,000 or more in some cases have been fined to restaurants that violated the credit card industry rules by storing credit card information. In 2006, Visa fined merchants across all categories $4.6 million for security violations, an increase from the $3.4 million in fines the previous year.
After recently conducting special security briefings with several hundred restaurants, although they declined to provide a breakdown of merchant types, Visa believes a merchant group needs additional attention.
At the same time, companies that process credit card transactions are also turning up the heat on restaurants. These companies have threatened to end services to those that do not follow security regulations.
Credit card companies are especially worried about specialized software restaurants use, which combine such features as tabulating bills, delivering orders to the kitchen and tracking reservations. Since credit card companies cannot require software makers to abide by their security rules, they instead apply pressure to restaurants. Visa has a list of software programs that meet its requirements maintained on their web site.
But software developers that even with the best software, restaurants could still be in trouble if they have a weak password protection or firewalls. For software companies, they say that it's not up to them to let restaurant owners know what they must do to in order to comply with the security rules of the credit card industry.
The author of this article is the VP of Customer Relations at POS-For-Restaurants.com with over 20 years experience helping restaurants nationwide increase their efficiency and bottom-line profits using restaurant POS systems.
To learn on how our national POS network of restaurant point of sale specialists can help your business achieve greater success in these difficult economic times, visit POS-For-Restaurants.com.
CompactFlash Association readies next-gen XQD format, promises write speeds of 125 MB/s and up (Engadget)
We don't need to tell you CF is one of the few memory card formats that's
managed to survive the SD tidal wave (remember when you needed Memory Stick to
use a Sony point-and-shoot?). But if you're the kind of serious shooter who
uses CF, you might be tickled to know its high-speed successor is just about
good to go. The CompactFlash Association said it's finished work on XQD, a
next-gen format that promises faster speeds, along with a smaller footprint
than current-gen CF cards. As for transfer rates, the included PCI Express
interface promises theoretical write speeds as high as 5 Gb/s, though the
association is quick to peg real-world writes at 125 MB/s and up. Still,
that's plenty fast for processing RAW stills and 1080p video, and it's a clear
bump over the 100 MB/s write rates (max) you'll get from today's CF cards. No
word on availability or partnerships, though we know Nikon led XQD's
development, and that Canon endorsed it, so it's safe to say we'll see this in
some major releases sometime after the association starts licensing the
technology in early 2012.
CompactFlash Association readies next-gen XQD format, promises write ...
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