BERLIN, October 16, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- In our current age of information, data security and privacy is a white-hot issue. The adequate safeguarding of sensitive customer data, such as credit and debit card information, is a task so important that many who have failed to do so have found themselves out of employment.
Millions of data records are lost every year, and with hacking incidents only continuing to increase in both frequency and size, there is an enormous need for worldwide data security standards to reach the next level.
The Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) created and constantly improves upon the PCI Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), a mandatory set of guidelines to help companies properly secure their customer's sensitive data. All companies handling customer credit and debit card information are required by law to adhere to these standards, and it is a crucial part of worldwide data security.
The PCI Council holds regular meetings in various regions around the world to gather feedback on the standard, as well as to serve as a forum for data security professionals to come together and join in the knowledge sharing sessions.
The latest PCI SSC European Meeting was held at from October 7-9 at the Maritim Hotel in Berlin, Germany. Ground Labs, a developer of sensitive data discovery tools, supported the event, as well as appeared in its vendor showcase.
"These PCI Community Meetings are the perfect forum to connect with our industry," said Stephen Cavey, the Director of Corporate Development for Ground Labs. "Data Security is a constantly evolving landscape, and we received great feedback and ideas from attendees that we are now planning to implement into our products in 2015."
The constant need to stay educated and informed is not unlike the need companies are facing to stay compliant with the PCI standards. While many companies initially attain the PCI DSS certification, they fail to maintain the standard regularly, and hackers strike the moment they let their guard down.
Many major players in the data security industry delivered excellent presentations. Chris Novac from Verizon shared highlights of the Verizon Data Breach Incident Report 2014, a comprehensive insight for the types of techniques hackers are using to breach data security systems.
Another high energy speaker was Bob Arno, a world-renowned comedy pickpocket entertainer who stole not only the hearts of the crowd, but their wallets as well. He delivered an excellent presentation on the latest pickpocket trends around the world, and gave useful insights into the minds of criminals involved in scams and street crime.
The next leg of the PCI Community Meetings series will be held in Sydney, Australia, from 18-19 November. The Ground Labs team will be attending that meeting once again and look forward to catching up with its Asia Pacific industry colleagues.
About Ground Labs
Ground Labs is a global leader in the development of cardholder data discovery software for the payment card industry. Its flagship products, Card Recon and Enterprise Recon, identify data storage risks on thousands of computer systems worldwide, helping companies prevent security breaches that result in the theft of customers' credit and debit card numbers. For more information and product demos, visit www.groundlabs.com.
For more information, please contact:
Stephen Cavey
media@groundlabs.com
+65 63133 3133
www.groundlabs.com