Enabling payment card processing companies to comply with industry standards, AT&T (News - Alert) has announced that it is the first carrier to have its business network and security services portfolio which includes Virtual Private Network (VPN), managed routers, remote access, and managed security services. The company claims that the portfolio is successfully evaluated by an independent third-party against the Payment Card Industry's Data Security Standards.
To maximize the protection of credit and debit card data being transferred over the Internet or stored on the networks, the PCI Data Security Standards were adopted to give any entity that processes, stores, or transmits payment card data the framework. To decide if they are compliant with these standards, PCI members undergo regular audits. Facilitating customers who use these AT&T services to meet their PCI standards obligations, AT&T's portfolio has been found to be compliant with the applicable industry standards.
The services provided by Visa and MasterCard have been found to be compliant with the applicable PCI Data Security Standards. T&T is the first network service provider with such a broad portfolio of business network services to be placed on the list of service providers of these companies. AT&T's suite of business network services will enable customers subject to the PCI standards to comply with the standards.
This announcement represents the first wave of AT&T services that have completed the audit process by an independent third party. This enables the company to list its services among Visa's and MasterCard's PCI certified providers. Among Visa's and MasterCard's PCI certified providers.
For many large (Level 1) and midsized (Level 2) businesses that accept card payments, validating PCI compliance is a costly affair. The company Web site quotes a 2008 survey by Gartner (News - Alert) which states that Level 1 retailers "reported spending an average of $2.7 million on PCI compliance, excluding the costs of PCI assessment services.”
“AT&T is the first to offer such an expansive set of VPN, remote access and managed security services that have been successfully evaluated against the PCI Data Security Standards,” said Dale McHenry, AT&T vice president, Enterprise Networking. “As a result, AT&T can now provide customers pursuing PCI certification with comprehensive information about AT&T's services that they can use in their own PCI certification efforts.”
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Raju Shanbhag is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of Raju's articles, please visit his columnist page.
Edited by Michelle Robart