As a Participating Organization, Tieto will work with the Council to develop the PCI Data Security Standard (DSS) and other payment card data protection standards.

The PCI DSS, endorsed by American Express, Discover Financial Services, JCB International, MasterCard Worldwide and Visa Inc., requires merchants and service providers that store, process or transmit customer payment card data to adhere to information security controls and processes that ensure data integrity.

As a Participating Organization, Tieto will have access to the latest payment card security standards from the Council, be able to provide feedback on the standards and become part of a growing community that now includes more than 500 organizations. In an era of increasingly sophisticated attacks on IT systems, adhering to the PCI DSS represents best protection against data criminals.

"The PCI Security Standards Council is committed to helping everyone involved in the payment chain protect consumer payment data," says Bob Russo, General Manager of the PCI Security Standards Council. "By participating in the standards setting process, Tieto demonstrates they are playing an active part in this important end goal."

"We have always put the security and reliability of our solutions on top of the agenda and by being part of the PCI Security Standards Council our goal is to collaborate with participating organizations and to evolve the industry standards to ensure that customer challenges are addressed," says Maris Ozolins, Head of Cards, Tieto.