Payment Card Industry or PCI DSS Compliance Standards for short is a standard that was implemented in November 2008. You do not hear very much of this anymore just like you do not hear of other topics like Work Place Identity Theft. If you are a business owner you should go ahead and pay close attention now or you will be paying attention later. Fines for PCI DSS breach start at 100,000 and go UP and for the nightmare of WorkPlace, Identity Theft becomes a six-month or longer ordeal of governmental forms and compensation to the victims.
The best practice to address this issue is to address this issue as you manage your business. The statement "we did not know" is covered by the FTC with this publication they produce. This is a good site and article and well worth the read. To give a good illustration that things are not always the way they appear, consider your cell phone.
Something as small as leaving your cell phone unattended in the office can be your worst nightmare as reported by WTHR TV. They allowed the cell phone to be hacked and it illustrates well this topic as well as this report by another TV station. Something as simple as leaving your cell on your desk offers an opportunity for someone who wants to or maybe stalking or harassing another employee. So if you think it can not happen in your office, think again.
We receive calls here every day that are from people who did not think they would become the victim of a crime. In the office place, install a CCTV camera system. Everything from stealing lunches to unauthorized personnel in the server room is an everyday occurrence and support call. A simple camera system helps avoid the "I don't know" of the office and I always have to smile when we have someone recorded in the act of theft. It's one area that I really do get enjoyment out of and when the owner states that he was glad they had us install one.
The bigger issue however is access to the communications closet. Historically communication "closets" were just that and wiring would be placed anywhere there was room. This has somewhat changed since the cost of network security and server support has made it necessary for both areas to remain clean and absent of obstructions. Access to the office wiring system is critical in today's business and to be in PCI compliance you must have the area secured. That is why we install a rack that fits both requirements. Installed in a restricted area, this rack can be installed to meet HIPPA requirements as well as PCI DSS compliance standards.
Installation of your voice, data, security, and fiber requirements one time by a professional will save you money in the front end, access issues during, costs during, and avoid those steep fines as well as the unending volumes of time caused by an office breach.
