PCI Vulnerability Standards
PCI vulnerability standards, otherwise known as, PCI DSS (payment card industry data security standards) are a long list of requirements that businesses of all sizes are required to follow if they accept or store credit cards at their business. This probably includes most businesses as most businesses do accept debit, credit and prepaid cards. If you are an online business owner, you are probably aware of the additional burden placed on your business back since 2006. Research shows that merchants have collectively spent more than $1 billion on PCI compliance to keep their businesses secure. This can seem completely overwhelming, as the people, money and time that you'd rather dedicate to your customers, will instead be spent generating, applying and managing what you need to stay compliant. There are many companies out there that can help you with your compliance, and you shouldn’t hesitate to check them out. It can save you some time and money.
In short, the function of the PCI vulnerability standards is to create as secure of an environment as possible for you to process credit cards. The PCI council has broken it down into 12 main security requirements that all merchants are supposed to strive for in order to be truly PCI compliant. However, the extents to which the 12 requirements need to be met depend on the number of transactions that a company processes in a year, which are separated into 4 levels.
PCI scanning is another important part of the PCI vulnerability standards and PCI compliance. You may also have heard it called Vulnerability Scanning. This is when you have an approved scanning vendor (ASV) scan any and all IP addresses that the public has access to that have to do with your website or the transaction process. This typically includes your websites IP address; however, if you transfer your customers to a third-party shopping cart hosted by your shopping cart provider during the checkout process, then you should include their IP address to be scanned as well.
In short, the PCI vulnerability standards are one of the most important parts of any business these days. Penalties for not complying can be severe, including enormous fines or possibly the merchant’s loss of the ability to accept credit card payments. So don’t take it lightly. Besides, when you are in compliance, your customers will know that you have taken the extra steps needed to make your website and business safe, which will result in more sales for you.
What is a Vulnerability Scanner?
The internet is a wonderful tool that has become a part of life that most can’t live without any more. But with the great things it also brings horrible things as well. Thieves and criminals now have more ways and means to be able to steal and attack people from the comforts of their own home. As a website owner, I am sure you are doing all you can to protect your computer and website from the dangers that lurk and a vulnerability scanner can be one important thing to add to your list of security measures if you don’t already have it.
A vulnerability scanner is a computer program designed to seek out and detect weaknesses in computers, websites, applications and networks. By checking your system against a database of known vulnerabilities, scanners can detect and then report holes in the security system. This is super important to have in the fight against online threats.
A vulnerability scanner is a bit different from your anti-virus software, in that it isn’t able to prevent attacks but it is the kind of program that provides awareness of possible dangers. When done by an ASV (approved scanning vendor), vulnerability scanning improves security by providing reports on what kinds of risks or vulnerabilities are found during the scan. These reports not only let you know about what kinds of things are threatening your system, but in what order they should be fixed so that you can increase your site’s efficiency and productivity.
Having anti-virus software is so important to protect your system against viruses, phishing, malware and more, but don’t put vulnerability scanning on the side burner. Having a vulnerability scanner plays an important part in maintaining your network’s security and giving your customer’s a website that they can trust.
Site Security Options
By now we all know that without the proper site security, our online businesses are at a huge risk from hackers, computer viruses, identity theft or worse. Security for your website comes in all shapes and sizes.
Many people think that website security and computer security is the same thing. While they are related, they are different. In order to keep you computer secure, you will want to look for an Internet Security Suite. This is software that includes three main programs to protect your computer. Anti-virus programs to scan for viruses on your computer system; anti-spyware programs to monitor your system for behaviors that may be spyware related; and firewalls to prevent malware to from reaching your machine.
Website security goes beyond simply protecting your computer. You need to be sure that you are protecting your online business website and the customers who visit it. Site security includes things such as SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificates, to protect data transfers on your website. If you run credit card transactions, use personal logins on your site or ask for personal information such as addresses or id numbers, you definitely need a SSL certificate.
Another form of site security is PCI scanning. This is when an ASV (approved scanning vendor) scans your website for the thousands of vulnerabilities that exist out there in the cyber world. PCI scanning is a very important part of site security. Trust seals and privacy policies are another important aspect of site security. This is how you can prove to your customers that your website is safe.
So when you are thinking about different options for site security, consider the differences between computer security and website security. Also, consider implementing more than one type of security measure if not all that are listed to be sure you are fully protected.
Vulnerability Assessment and PCI Scanning
In my search to find out all that I could about PCI Scanning I recently saw the term vulnerability assessment mentioned with PCI Scanning and so I decided to make that my next subject of research. When I started I never thought it would be so difficult to find out how the two were related and after hours of looking I realized that the answer was staring me right in the face.
Vulnerability Assessment is related to PCI Scanning in the fact that they both serve basically the same purpose. They both scan over a subject in order to find any holes in the system that would let any intruders in. They not only help to find any viruses or bugs you might have in your system now, but their main purpose is to scan your system and find any problem areas and fix them in order to prevent any security issues from happening.
While I was learning about vulnerability assessment I found out how important it is to have something that will find these vulnerabilities for you. In this day in age it is important to have a third party helping to protect your online business. There are so many ways to hack into your server and corrupt all that you have worked for and if that isn’t scary enough these hackers are constantly scanning your business looking for holes, and they are constantly finding new ways to get a hold of the sensitive information that is stored on your site.
If you have an online business I would definitely look into getting some type of vulnerability assessment tool such as PCI Scanning to help protect your business. It would be very beneficial to protect yourself from hackers who are constantly changing their tactics by using a third party who can keep up on the latest things that the hackers are doing and scanning your business in order to prevent any security problems.
Website Security Checklist
If you run your own business online, you want to make sure that your website is secure for your customers. Website security is a must, and many don’t realize how much having a secure website increases the trust of your customers, which in return, means more sales for you! Website security is a concern for all businesses and will probably always be high up on the agenda simply because cyber criminals are getting smarter as is technology. This means that they will always strive to find new ways to get pass the website security that we have in place. If you are concerned about website security, but are not sure where to start, here is a checklist of what you need to get started.
Anti-virus Software: This is used to prevent, detect, and remove malware, including computer viruses, worms, and trojan horses. Such programs may also prevent and remove adware, spyware, and other forms of malware. This can be purchased or downloaded via the internet. Special care should be taken when choosing your anti-virus software, as some programs are not effective as others.
Manage Your Website Over Encrypted Connections: Make it a habit to use proven encrypted protocols like SSH to securely access resources and transmit data. When registering new customers for your site, always use maximum encryption. You must give your customers a guarantee that you won’t share their data with any third parties.
Verify That Your Website Is A “Legitimate” Business – Display Trust Marks: Some things that a website should included that show security and trust, are a privacy policy, terms of use, refund policy, testimonials, FAQ/sales support section, digital certificate/data security page, copyright statement on every page, well written “about us” page, and address and phone number contact page. Also, display trust marks or trust seals on your website showing that the site has been verified by a third party. It is important for your customers to know that your website is legitimate and can be trusted.
Have current vulnerability assessments and PCI scanning performed: You should have your website scanned by an approved scanning vendor at least quarterly, but preferably daily. This is important to do, so that any vulnerabilities that are found on your website can be corrected quickly and you won’t suffer any security breaches or downtime, which means lost sales.
Be Proactive and Keep Your Website Updated With New and Changing Security Solutions: Even the most well maintained and antivirus solutions packed into a small business website can have a problem or two from time to time. Protect important information by hosting data backup systems. Keeping your business website secure requires a certain degree of diligence. You may even want to consider hiring a company to help you.
These are just a few of the most important website security measures to get you started. There are more you should think about. Some of these tips make seem like commonsense, but you would be surprised at how many small business owners neglect some or all of them, if for no other reason than just because they are so tied up in the other business priorities. Just remember it is super important. Hopefully this checklist helps.