RiskWatch, a world leader in risk assessment and compliance technology, announced today the much anticipated release of the new RiskWatch for PCI Compliance software.
The software measures compliance directly against the recently updated PCI-DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard). The PCI DSS is a multifaceted security standard that includes requirements for security management, policies, procedures, network architecture, software design and other critical protective measures to protect credit card information for consumers.
The software consists of a simple web-based solution which allows an organization to log in to a secure web site and create compliance surveys that can be distributed throughout an organization and provides full audit trails, validating compliance with the new standard. Financial service providers and retailers are among the millions of organizations that will have to measure their compliance against the PCI-DSS standard.
"The PCI demand is there for a easy PCI product and with the audit acceptance of RiskWatch -- it is a perfect solution for organizations who need a easy-to-use PCI compliance assessment," explained Chrisan Herrod, former Chief Security Officer of the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission, who currently Vice President with Compliance Spectrum of Austin, Texas.
Interested organizations can attend special seminars and webinars being held over the summer in Annapolis, Maryland and Austin, Texas.
Speaking to a group of merchants at a PCI DSS conference, Phil Mellinger, CISO of First Data, who developed the precursor to the current PCI DSS rules, is calling for an overhaul to ease restrictions to get more merchants to meet the standard. Mellinger said, "The more people we can get compliant, the better off we are." Deadlines were set for merchants to prove compliance by the end of 2007. But so far industry estimates show that more than 60% of merchants fail to meet the current standards.