Stores Magazine - December 2007 - (Page 74)

CONSIDER THIS / ARTS UPDATE ARTS and PCI BY RICHARD MADER No question about it, the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is currently the hottest topic in the retail IT world. Since the card-issuers launched this audit program in December 2004, it has been the principal topic at NRF CIO Council meetings and a main focus of retail IT shops. NRF has taken the lead in helping retailers understand the requirements of PCI DSS. NRF CIO Council meetings for the last two years have focused on PCI, and in the last year NRF has organized three data security seminars for retailers. As the standards division of NRF, ARTS has frequently been asked, “Can’t you create standards to make it easier and less expensive to meet the PCI-DSS requirements?” ARTS committees have discussed this topic many times; we reviewed the possibility of standard encryption and if changes to the UnifiedPOS API specification defining the standard interfaces for 32 POS peripheral devices could extend the useful life of the magnetic strip reader and help retailers avoid the upgrade requirements of PCI-DSS. mentation of their recommendations will result in compliance with PCI-DSS. The problem is that compliance is determined by assessors, which leaves room for human judgment and, perhaps, human error. New technology Just when it seemed that ARTS could not provide direct PCI standards-related assistance to our members and the industry at large, an opportunity developed: MagTek, a 35-year player in the magnetic card device industry, attended a UnifiedPOS meeting and shared information about a recent advance in detecting fraudulent cards. Concerned with protecting consumer data, MagTek developed a card-authenticaRichard Mader is tion method to determine if a credit or debit executive director of ARTS. card being read for authorization is bank issued and valid or an illegal copy. MagTek’s MagnePrint technology is able to detect cards that have been “skimmed” (illegally reproduced), as well as cards that The problem is that compliance is have had their data altered. MagnePrint is based on the determined by assessors, which leaves principle that all magnetic stripes are intrinsically unique room for human judgment and, perhaps, due to the random distribution of the magnetic particles. human error. The engineers on the UnifiedPOS committee were quite impressed with this technology; it makes it very difficult to use an invalid card created from stolen data, eliminating the reason to steal identity information. (According to some Throughout these discussions, the ARTS board, comreports, stolen credit card information goes for $20 per prised of 21 leading retailers and software solution card, which drives the desire to “hack” your network.) providers, could not find a “silver bullet” to aid retailers in becoming compliant. We did identify many excellent sources of information, Coming in January like the Retail Solution Providers Association (RSPA), an MagTek is now an ARTS member and working with the ARTS alliance partner; the publication, Are You at Risk, UnifiedPOS committee to add card authentication capabilican be found on its website (www.gorspa.org). ARTS venties to enable recognition of counterfeit cards to the specifidor members, such as Cisco and Micros, have worked dilication. Additionally, support for data encryption and devicegently to help their retailer customers meet the PCI-DSS host authentication will be included in UnifiedPOS 1.12, deadlines. scheduled for release in January. Micros was one of the first companies to be certified as Watch the ARTS website for more details or stop by the conformant to Visa’s Cardholder Information Security ProARTS Standards Pavilion (Booth 2155) at the NRF Annual gram (CISP), while Cisco has developed guidelines for Convention, January 13-16 at the Javits Center in New protecting customer data but cannot guarantee that impleYork City, for more information. 74 STORES / DECEMBER 2007 WWW.STORES.ORG http://www.gorspa.org http://WWW.STORES.ORG

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Stores Magazine - December 2007

STORES - December 2007 Contents Executive Editor's Page President's Page Holiday Shopping Extravagance What Shoppers Think 10 Things You May Have Missed Numbers Worth Counting Full Price/Markdown Retail People Niche Marketing Eight Predictions for 2008 Concept2Watch Merchandising Strategy Sourcing E-Commerce Supply Chain Warehouse Management Software Contactless Payments Marketing Marketing Online Loeb Retail Letter ARTS Update Point of View NRF News Retail Industry Calendar Last Laugh

Stores Magazine - December 2007

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