The recent credit card security breach has highlighted the need for improved security management.
Ironically, MasterCard, one of the card issuers affected by the breach, announced just last month that it had successfully shut down nearly 1,400 phishing sites and over 750 websites that were illegally selling credit card information.
However, security breaches are nothing new, and something on this scale had to be expected. The reality is that no one knows exactly where their personal data is being held – in this case an individual would have a credit card with Financial Institution A, which uses MasterCard as the provider, which in turn uses CardSystems to process its transactions. We are entirely in the hands of these organizations to ensure that our details remain secure. MasterCard has currently tasked CardSystems with proving that its security systems stand up to MasterCard’s requirements.
The need for security management is highlighted by this breach, as point solutions alone cannot provide the in-depth security that is required today. A proactive and reactive security management system will keep all parties informed about the success and weakness factors of their operation – something that appears to have been lacking in this case.
Ultimately, organizations that cannot prove their security protection services run the risk of being excluded from business activities that earn them their revenues – CardSystems must be sweating right now as it strives to remedy the situation.
Indeed, CardSystems has, understandably, not had a comfortable ride in the press since the breach was announced. MasterCard, meanwhile, has been able to shield itself from blows from angry cardholders somewhat, and recent talk of it releasing a new suite of technology and services solutions to help in the fight against phishing and other fraud will no doubt help it to recover some lost trust.
Source: OpinionWire by Butler Group (www.butlergroup.com)
