PCI Security Standards Council Announces Program Highlights for Annual Community Meetings

—Offers PCI community opportunity to share best practices and feedback; examine new technologies and how they can aid payment security efforts —

The PCI Security Standards Council (PCI SSC), a global, open industry standards body providing management of the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS ), PIN Transaction Security (PTS) requirements and the Payment Application Data Security Standard (PA-DSS ), today announced further details on sessions planned for its annual Community Meetings.

According to the 2011 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report, 2010 saw a significant decrease in total data records breached compared to previous years, pointing to a growing awareness of the importance of securing payment card data. While approaches to payment security continue to mature, persistent threats and data compromise incidents underscore the ongoing need for strong security programs addressing people, processes and technology. Organizations need to ensure that they have adequate security measures in place to address tomorrow’s threats.

Against this backdrop, global leaders in payment data security will gather in Scottsdale, Arizona on Sept. 20-22 and in London on October 17-19 at the PCI Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) Community Meetings to examine the protections afforded by the PCI Security Standards; discuss the challenge and potential of the latest in payment technologies; and provide critical feedback to continue to evolve the standards to address the changing threat climate.

At the 2011 PCI Community Meetings , the 3-day program will include the latest in breaking forensics, security trends and technology from expert keynote speakers ; SSC updates on the global state of PCI and technologies such as: point-to-point encryption, mobile payments, virtualization and tokenization; as well as dedicated sessions providing guidance to those aiding in PCI assessments, including Approved Scanning Vendors (ASV), Qualified Security Assessors (QSA), and Internal Security Assessors (ISA).

New for this year, the program will also include:

• PCI in Practice Case Studies :
  Implementing long-term PCI compliance programs that build security into every day practices is critical to protecting payment card data, which is the focus of the PCI in Practice track. In this unique forum, merchants and acquirers will share their real-world successes and challenges in case study presentations.

• Creating a Security Lifecycle:
  This practical session will provide recommendations on how to plan ahead for PCI and build a security lifecycle into the business.

• Special Interest Group (SIG) Presentations:
  The PCI Security Standards Council’s Special Interest Groups (SIG’s) leverage PCI SSC Participating Organizations' (PO) valuable business and technical experiences to collaborate with the PCI SSC on any supporting guidance or special projects relating to the PCI Security Standards. A new process and guidelines for the SIG proposal and selection was recently introduced to foster greater community involvement, including presentation of SIG ideas at the annual Community Meetings. Participating Organizations may submit proposals for consideration by August 29, 2011 at the Council’s website: https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/pdfs/PCI_SIG_Proposal.pdf

The full agendas for each meeting can be found at the Community Meeting website: https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/communitymeeting/2011/

With the formal feedback period on the latest versions of the PCI Standards beginning in November, the Community Meetings include specific sessions geared toward soliciting feedback on each standard, as well as a number of open forums for providing input to the Council.

Attendees will also have the chance meet and ask questions of representatives from the world’s largest associations, card brands, financial institutions and peers from their own industry in this exclusive gathering of global payment security experts, with targeted activities like “Breakfast with the Brands” and networking opportunities such as “Tables for Six” that facilitate informal dinner conversation for those in the PCI community.

“This is a critical year for all stakeholders, as we move toward adoption of PCI DSS 2.0 and investigate new technologies,” said Bob Russo , general manager, PCI Security Standards Council. “I look forward to gathering as a community and hearing from the front lines about the latest in payment security, how we can better work together to ensure not only that our standards remain critical resources for protecting card data but also that organizations have what they need to implement and maintain strong security programs.”

The Council has scheduled several training courses during the week, including its recently launched PCI Awareness training . These offerings provide participants the opportunity to combine the value of peer to peer education at the Community Meeting with more formal training sessions, maximizing their time in Scottsdale and London.

The 2011 PCI SSC Community Meetings feature a Vendor Showcase for Participating Organizations, QSAs and ASVs to demonstrate their products and services, as well as a number of sponsorship opportunities.

For more information, or to register to attend, please visit the Community Meetings website: https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/communitymeeting/2011/

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Are you attending? Get a head start on networking at the event and RSVP on LinkedIn to connect with others participating in this year’s meetings:

North America Community Meeting: http://linkd.in/jEw5jP

European Community Meeting: http://linkd.in/raDh0z

About the PCI Security Standards Council

The PCI Security Standards Council is an open, global forum that is responsible for the development, management, education, and awareness of the PCI Data Security Standard (PCI DSS ) and related standards that increase payment data security. Founded in 2006 by the major payment card brands American Express, Discover Financial Services, JCB International, MasterCard Worldwide and Visa Inc., the Council has more than 600 Participating Organizations representing merchants, banks, processors and vendors worldwide. To learn more about playing a part in securing payment card data globally, please visit: http://pcisecuritystandards.org .

Connect with the PCI Council on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/pci-security-standards-council

Join the conversation on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/PCISSC

Contact:

PCI Security Standards Council
Laura K. Johnson or Ella Nevill, +1-781-876-6250
press@pcisecuritystandards.org
Twitter @PCI SSC