Are Your Favorite Sites PCI Certified?

You might have heard about PCI compliance lately. Maybe you've even taken all the steps you need in order to ensure that your website is PCI certified. But, I have a question for you. Are the websites that you are shopping on PCI certified? This is something that as an online shopper, should be important to you, to make sure that your personal information, like account numbers, social security numbers, etc. is safe. One way you can be sure, is if the website you're doing business with is PCI certified.

Being PCI certified means that the site is complying with what's required by the PCI DSS (which stands for Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards). These requirements include things like protecting cardholder data, creating and maintaining a secure network, regularly monitoring and testing networks, creating and following through with a privacy policy, and cultivating a vulnerability management program. Additionally, the site should implement PCI vulnerability scans on a quarterly basis at the very least. PCI vulnerability scans perform tests that make certain there aren't any dangers or vulnerabilities on the website that would cause customer information to be stolen by online thieves and hackers.

You may be wondering how you can tell whether a site that you shop on is PCI certified. A simple way to tell is to look for trust marks posted on the website. Trust seals are small images, that certify that the website has been third party verified, and is PCI certified. It's important to look for trust seals when online shopping to defend against people stealing your personal information.

It's a no-brainer that when you use the internet to shop you need to be on guard. Do your homework and be on the look out for up to date trust seals. Be certain the sites you are shopping on are verified by a third party, and that they follow PCI compliance. Don't let your private information fall into the wrong hands. Be sure that you are only shopping on sites that are PCI certified.