Technology is evolving at rapid rate. Every day we get home from work, turn on the TV, and see countless commercials for gadgets such as watch phones, Google glasses, robotic drones, etc. The truth is that the rapid progression of technology has vast effects on our lifestyle and culture. We even added “google” ad verb to the dictionary! Today, a great amount of shopping is done online via computers, tablets, or smartphones. Applications are being developed to quash friendly debts in an instant, or wire money between bank accounts. Developers just keep making life easier, but we have to be careful. Are these apps safe and secure? I have to link them to a bank account? If so, is the app guaranteeing the same degree of data security as my bank?
Living in a mobile society has opened doors for both consumers and businesses to be more efficient. With the beneficial mobile features created for consumers, also comes the potential for criminals to try and take advantage of these unknowing consumers. Much like the relationship between a virus and a vaccine, with the good always comes the potential for evil. Luckily for us, we are not doomed, and can take the necessary precautions to ward away these people. In the world of retail, these evils are those engaging in credit card fraud. In response we turn to PCI Compliance and advanced data security services integrated within our ERP systems, to allow everyone to sleep better at night.
In 2014, consumers learned that one of the biggest retailers, Target, was a victim of a data breach where over 70 million of their customer’s credit and debit card information was stolen. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one concerned about the vulnerability of such a staple store such as Target. If such a big powerhouse like Target is vulnerable, what is stopping every other business, especially the smaller, less known ones, from being breached? Companies are investing more and more in data security to make sure that their customer information is protected. Total information security spending is projected to grow 8.2 percent this year to $76.9 billion dollars worldwide, up from $71.1 billion in 2014 according to Gartner.
Being PCI compliant in today’s age is commonplace. Certain standards must be met:
- Building and maintaining a secure network
- Protecting cardholder data & encrypting transmission across open, public networks
- Maintaining a vulnerability management program (upgrading anti-virus/ secure systems)
- Implementing strong access control measures (computer access ID’s for ex.)
- Regularly monitoring and testing networks
- Maintaining an information security policy
While PCI Compliance is a great start, it is in the interest of the modern retailer to go above and beyond to ensure consumer trust. HSO is at the frontier and understands this problem. One solution for retailers is an extra layer of security achieved through tokenization technology. It is unique in that it takes a customer’s card data, and converts it to a token with a unique ID. It is even able to do this offline, should the need arise. If the bad guys were to ever bypass the system, all they would be able to access would be a token with no valuable information or commercial value. Like most businesses, our client could not afford to lose customers and productivity from a data breach.
Most solutions are designed to proactively prevent data breaches from ever occurring, which is necessary. Going further, it is important for the modern retailer to respond should such a breach occur. A multi-channel retailer reaches more customers, but that comes with more risk as we continue to wade into uncharted waters provided by the internet and social media. Tokenization technology alleviates some of the immediate stress should emergency action ever be required.
About HSO Retail
HSO, Microsoft’s ERP Partner of the Year 2014, is a leading provider of enterprise business solutions for the Multi-Channel Retail and Service industries, including Microsoft Dynamics AX, CRM, Office365 and SharePoint. For more information, contact HSO at (847) 348-0588, through email info-usa@hso.com or visit www.hso.com/us.
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