Saturday, May 3, 2008

PCI, the New Kid in the Block (not the only kid)

I just finished two days at a PCI conference in Delaware and I’m writing this as I fly back to Vegas – technology is great now-a-days. The Payment Card Industry Compliance in Hospitality Conference held at the University of Delaware Courtyard by Marriott Hotel – it’s a training hotel for students looking for careers in hospitality management. The University of Delaware were great hosts.

The conference was targeted toward hotel and restaurant merchants. I’ll be honest; I thought the conference was going to be just another “PCI is great, you must comply” event where speakers ramble off a bunch of FUD. I was pleasantly surprised to find my preconceptions were wrong – so much so that I’m suggesting to my company that we become a sponsor for a future conference.

I think what surprised me the most was the format. The format was closer to a round table discussion than a lecture like I’m used to seeing. Audience questions were encouraged, not just at the end of each session, but throughout each session. One interesting session was a real life experience from the eyes of a Director of a hotel merchant chain. He detailed the five stages of grief his organization went through when PCI compliance, actually DSOP (AMEX’s version of PCI) was brought to their attention and how they became compliant.

Another nice change was that there was a lot of focus on multiple security and privacy laws and programs, not just PCI. The theme was to create one set of goals to comply with all the laws and programs that might apply to a particular merchant: HIPAA, FACTA, SOX, GLBA, PCI, etc., etc., etc. The only real FUD was the fact that while parts of PCI overlap one or more of these laws, if you’re breached, the fines and consequences associated with PCI may be the least of your worries.

There was a couple product/service demos to round things out. I was impressed that tokenization was actually mentioned by a few of the speakers (including Bob Russo, General Manager of PCI SSC). I guess the word is getting out.

The one big thing I’ve come to realize is that many level 4 merchants are going to have a difficult, if not impossible time fully complying with PCI. Not directly because of a security weaknesses, but indirectly because of process management in the payment application environment. One big problem I noted was that PCI requires that all patches be tested prior to implementation. The literal interpretation of this, which forensic analysts are taking in the event of a breach, is that every O/S and third-party vendor application patch must be tested by the merchant in a testing environment prior to roll-out. Most level 4 merchants I know don’t have the money, time, or resources to fulfill this requirement. This requirement will be difficult for all merchants to comply with, but level 4’s just because of their smaller sizes, are going to feel the pain the most. I think something will need to be adjusted here because if a significant percentage of these merchants can’t or won’t comply, then what the point?

I always say focus on security and compliance will follow. I still firmly believe this but for level 4 merchants, my recommendation would be to be as secure as possible to prevent the breach. If you can accomplish this, then you won’t have to cross your fingers for the forensic interpretation of your processes.

I recommend this conference if and when it is held again. For information on the conference, try here: http://www.hospitalityitcompliance.org