The Risks Of Not Being PCI Compliant
In the bustling world of running a Business, ensuring your customer's data is kept safe and secure is paramount. For businesses across the UK, neglecting PCI compliance can lead to severe repercussions. But what exactly is PCI compliance, and why is it so important? In this blog post, we will be discussing exactly what PCI compliance is, the importance, and the risks associated with ignoring these important rules and regulations.
Understanding PCI compliance
If you aren't already aware, PCI stands for Payment Card Industry, and PCI compliance refers to a set of security standards that are there to ensure that all businesses who accept and process credit card information do so securely. Maintaining a safe and secure environment to protect credit card information is incredibly important for all businesses.
Established by the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SSC), these guidelines are essential for safeguarding sensitive cardholder data. Compliance is not optional; it is a compulsory requirement for any business handling credit card transactions.
There are 12 comprehensive requirements that businesses need to be in order to be PCI compliant. These include installing and maintaining a firewall configuration, regular monitoring and testing, and protecting cardholder data through encryption.
The importance of being PCI compliant
As well as avoiding the risks which we will discuss later in this article, being PCI compliant is important for many reasons. These include:
Protecting your customers
Ensuring PCI compliance is ultimately about safeguarding your customer's sensitive data. With the constant rise in cyber threats, data breaches are concerningly common. This makes consumers increasingly concerned about the security of their sensitive data. Your customer's put their trust in your business to protect and safeguard their data.
Preserving your reputation
A single data breach can severely damage a business' reputation and break the trust of your customer-base that would have built up. News of a compromise in sensitive data spreads quickly, and can deter potential customers.
PCI compliance helps protect your brand's integrity and helps build trust with your customers. In today's competitive market, a robust security posture allows you to stand out.
The risks and consequences of not being PCI compliant
Legal repercussions
Businesses that fail to comply with PCI standards may find themselves involved in legal battles. If you do not comply with PCI standards and a data breach occurs, you can find yourself in lawsuits from affected customers.
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) mandates that companies adhere to the PCI SSC regulations, and non-compliance can result in significant legal penalties. This is why PCI compliance is so important, as you don't want to get into any legal trouble due to not complying to the industry standards.
Financial loss
Another risk associated with not being PCI compliant is financial loss for your Company. Your business can face significant fines for not being PCI compliant, which can affect small businesses the most in particular. Additionally, in the event of a data breach, businesses may be required to cover the costs of card replacement and compensation to affected customers.