PCI compliance is essential to any legitimate online business. When your customers make purchases on your website, they need to know that their information will stay secure.
If there is any risk that their payment information could be compromised, you put them at risk, which puts your own business at risk. To protect your business and your customers' information, you need to ensure that your website is PCI compliant in 2020.
What Is PCI Compliance?
PCI, or payment card industry, set goals and requirements that businesses need to follow in order to be compliant. Since 2004, all major To ensure that your business is compliant, follow these credit cards follow the same security standard when it comes to payments online. This standard is made up of 12 total requirements that need to be met in order to be considered compliant.
standards:
1. Build and Maintain a Secure Network
2. Protect Cardholder Data
3. Maintain a Vulnerability Management Program
4. Implement Strong Access Control Measures
5. Minimize the amount of interaction with cardholder data
6. Test security systems and applications in place
Risk of Non-PCI Compliance
When a website is not compliant with the PCI standards, there are several risks that they take. The first and most obvious risk is the security of the customer's information. People's card numbers, names, addresses, and other personal information may be taken if the system is hacked.
People will lose money, they'll need to contact their financial institution or card companies and shut their cards off, and they'll need to get new cards. In more serious cases, there could even be a risk of identity theft.
While everything is being worked out, customers are subject to the inconvenience of not having their cards or access to their lines of credit. They may also have to freeze credit to prevent fraudulent activity.
This can result in lost customers for your business and lost revenue if legal action is taken. Settlements of this kind are well into the million-dollar range.
If legal action is taken against a non-compliant company that experiences a breach, it will also be hit with fines. These fines could be between $5,000 and $10,000 every month until the compliance issue is resolved. They may also be fined between $50-$90 for every cardholder whose information has been compromised.
Aside from the financial damage that a breach would cause your business, the reputation of your business would also be severely damaged. You lose the loyalty of the customers whose data was stolen, but you also disqualify yourself in the eyes of future customers who may only know the name of your business because of the data breach headlines.
PCI compliance can help you avoid all of these negative consequences by adequately protecting the information of your customers.
Web Hosting Company
If you're unfamiliar with the specific regulations and requirements of PCI compliance, there are PCI compliant hosting companies that you can hire to manage this aspect of your website. PCI compliance isn't something that you can fake or cut corners on. You need to know, 100%, that your website is safe and secure for customers.
When you hire a hosting company, there are some things that you should consider. These things will help you decide whether or not the company is trustworthy and deserves your business. The following checklist refers specifically to HIPAA-compliant web hosting, but the questions that they put forward are relevant to PCI compliance as well. Choosing the
When you're evaluating your options, ask:
- Is the company itself a PCI complaint?
- Which platforms can they help with (WordPress, GoDaddy, etc.)?
- Which security tools will they offer your business?
- How do they configure their firewalls?
- Do they include website/information back-up? How is that protected?
- Will they help with access control?
- How does server monitoring work?
- Are anti-virus scans included?
By hiring an outside company, you can transfer the responsibility of PCI compliance over to trained professionals rather than trying to patch it together yourself. This will help you ensure that your website stays compliant and secure while allowing you to focus on your regular job duties.
Because hackers are constantly changing their methods, technology is always advancing to find new ways to keep them out. This constant change means that regulations and requirements will continue to change as well.
Getting your website to be PCI compliant is a big job, but maintaining its compliance is an even bigger job. This is another reason that it's in the best interest of your business to hire a PCI compliance hosting company.
Conclusion
PCI compliance is essential for the success of your business and the security of your customers. Ensure that your website will be PCI compliant in 2020 by researching PCI compliance hosting companies, researching PCI compliance regulations, and finding a quality team to manage your website and customer information.
It may seem like you can't afford the cost of achieving compliance, or you don't have the time to donate to it, but without a compliant site, you risk the livelihood of your customers and your business every day. Protect the future of your company by becoming PCI compliant as soon as possible.
