PCI Compliance Numbers Drop as Security Breaches Increase

Without a doubt, 2020 has been an atypical year, full of challenges at the economic level and especially for trade. The situation generated as a result of the Covid-19 has accelerated the development of electronic commerce, anticipating ■■■■■■■■■■■ levels that were expected for the next few years. Now the challenge is to maintain the advantageous position achieved.

A major drop is reported in PCI Compliance numbers:

According to an annual payment security report by Verizon, they surveyed that how companies are meeting compliance challenges facing businesses that process payment and what steps they can take to develop their security measures.

In the report, data compiled from 68,992 control around 60 countries and 334 PCI compliance validation reports. They found that below 28% of companies were 100% PCI DSS compliant in the year 2019 that was an 8.8 drop from the previous year.

Three tips to better protect ourselves:

In the first place, it is recommended to apply the same security measures that have been implemented for end customers at the store itself. By requiring double authentication to access more sensitive systems, it is ensured that whoever accesses the most sensitive environment is properly identified.

Second, having unique and strong passwords is critical to avoid compromising security. You do not have to reuse passwords, even if it involves a little effort, each environment, each app, each service must have a unique password. No dates, places of birth, names of relatives, etc. Instead, it is recommended to create a combination of numbers, letters (uppercase and lowercase), and some control character (@, $,%, …) that will provide sufficient strength to the passwords, creating a less vulnerable environment.

Finally, you have to protect yourself from viruses and security breaches by updating the software with the latest versions, installing the available security patches, and having an updated antivirus active to prevent any type of malware or ransomware from succeeding.

PCI DSS - security partner:

Security is one of the fundamental pillars to retain customers and avoid an incident that could leave us out of the market. Compliance with the PCI DSS Regulation incorporates many more aspects that help secure payments and ensure that compromised situations do not occur.

In an environment as changing as the digital one, staying abreast of new trends and threats is not easy, which is why PCI advisory services help to achieve and maintain the necessary level of security throughout time so as not to compromise the trade.

In 2021, new technologies and security challenges will come, facing them accompanied by a partner that has PCI professionals will be key to overcome them.

PCI DSS compliance was heading in the wrong direction and Pandemic has only made these things even worsen. In reality, a phishing simulation performed in March 2020 with 16,000 members found that nearly 3 times as many people clicked the link and put their credentials than from a similar test run in late 2019. So, the security strategy needed by PCI DSS can help offer security in uncertain times like these.