The holidays are around and it’s the season for shopping. So as the folks get on their plan to go around the world to spend the vacation and shopping, vendors need to keep their act together. To protect themselves and their customers’ details safe from cyber criminals. Make sure the POS systems are updated and protected.
Laura Miller, president of small business of Chase Merchant Services at JPMorgan Chase, says”75 percent of companies experienced some type of payment fraud in 2016, and the total number of attacks increased over 2015. New industry standards and up-to-date point of sale technology can protect businesses if they take action to close their security gap.”
1. Implement Point-to-Point Encryption (p2pe) and Tokenization
EMV Chips are already in place as part of POS upgrade, and retailers have accommodated this to keep off any cyber-attacks during this holiday season. Every American now carries this EMV chip in his wallet. This helps them to keep the fraudsters from stealing payment data.
If a vendor or a merchant has not yet upgraded his POS device, then there is no point of talking about security. Credit card related crime has gone down ever since the implementation of EMV chips. This means vendors and merchants are required to accept EMV payments, which is part of the payment security equation.
2. Keep Yourself Updated
Merchants should be updated with all the happening in the market with regards to security standards which are mandated by PCI councils. Most of the damage happens when merchants have no clue about the risk. If they don’t stay current, the payment processor will no longer accept payments due to non-compliant encryption technologies.
Merchants should update themselves with all the latest news and blogs from relevant websites and blogs, and educate themselves with the payment processor, and get a lot of insight.
3. Secure the Network
Merchants should have additional security in like the firewall in order to secure their network. There should be a limited access to IP addresses for outbound firewall rules. This will help them to protect their ports from cyber criminals who can misconfigure such settings to their advantage. Segment the network if you are working with a payment processor, and tighten the access control list in the router configuration.
4. Limit Remote Access
The merchant should allow an only limited amount of IP addresses to their point of sale devices. It should be allowed during working hours or when an update is required. Keep the Wi-Fi separate, and employ a tight firewall, also install cameras.
Merchants should be extra considerate when they share information, it is very important that a POS system is not used for other online purposes. Keep your credentials safe and conduct a security testing, and two-factor authentication to find any vulnerability.
Larry Brennan, senior vice president of merchant data security and cybersecurity at Bank of America Merchant Services calls for “practicing good cyber- hygiene.” To prevent POS disruption, retailers should instruct their store managers to check the in-store video cameras if accessible and train them to watch for any signs of fraudulent behavior with their POS equipment.
To keep the holiday going and be in that pleasant mood, merchants should ensure they are compliant and be ready to serve their customers without any fuss or obstruction to process the transaction. If you want to provide ultimate POS security for all your POS systems, try Comodo SecureBox.
