Latin America. Organizations must have security policies and strategic allies endorsed by international anti-fraud bodies such as the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Security Standards Council (SSC).
The Internet has revolutionized in a dizzying way the way we interact with others and with our environment, and has even proposed a new form of communication by adding the relationship between devices or the Internet of Things. This has undoubtedly resulted in a panorama where connectivity grows exponentially, generating a volume of data never thought of.
Financial institutions, businesses, government, social services and countless individuals interact, share, communicate, collaborate and manage information; generating a new paradigm that contributes day by day in an accelerated way with the social and economic development of the region.
These benefits are accompanied by many challenges, particularly in relation to the security that must be maintained to ensure that sensitive or confidential information can only be accessed by authorized entities.
Security breaches
According to IDB figures, cybercrime in 2015 has cost some 575,000 million dollars globally, which represents 0.5% of global GDP; which shows that current information technologies are not yet mature enough, or on par with that of cybercriminals who unfortunately still continue to violate in a forceful way. Similarly, a multiplicity of platforms have been manipulated, in order to obtain confidential information in order to do harm and make money.
How to Protect Yourself from Cybercrime
Information security is one of the most serious issues facing businesses today, and there is no doubt that the danger of breaches and fraud will continue to increase. There are methods to prevent and detect threats, so that organizations can avoid or minimize the damage or loss caused by those who try to harm them. It becomes imperative to understand how cybercriminals attack, in order to be in a better position to protect and be prepared against cyber attacks.
It is necessary to establish solid security policies and have strategic allies that are trained and certified in the various disciplines required, that have a vast experience and above all, that are endorsed by the main international instances against cybercrime and fraud such as PCI SSC.
The Importance of PCI SSC Compliance
The most effective way to protect customer payment card information is to ensure that payment processors follow the requirements established by PCI SSC, an open global forum for the ongoing formulation, improvement, storage, dissemination and application of security standards for the protection of payment account and cardholder data. This set of standards were established by the world's leading card providers (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover and JCB), to ensure the secure handling of payment information, protecting account holder information, from points of sale (POS), online shopping carts, wireless access routers and other devices that are required, so that a merchant or service provider can handle the data of payment accounts and their holders, securely governed by the strict controls of the PCI SSC.
Among the many advantages offered by compliance with these standards and controls, the security of the information processing systems of the operations and loyalty stands out, which translates in turn, into gaining the trust of customers, increasing the sales of the business.
New alternative
Recently GM Security Technologies (GM Sec Tec), obtained the certification as Qualified Security Assessor (QSA") for Latin America by PCI SSC, to continue guaranteeing security in the technological processes of cloud computing, Big Data and integral security.
This designation puts them one step ahead and is a sign of their commitment to protect and support their customers, in terms of the management and security of their infrastructures, from the use and implementation of best practices in relation to policies and procedures, design and management of networks, to vulnerability and penetration testing.
By Jesús Cortina, Executive Vice President and General Manager, GM Security Technologies
