First Data recently issued a letter to all affected parties mandating that they complete a PABP audit within 90 days of receipt of the letter and identifying AmbironTrustWave as the preferred provider of PABP services to First Data software vendors. AmbironTrustWave's TrustedApp service measures compliance with PABP requirements through a detailed review of application operating files, logs and databases. A rigorous test of the application functionality and security is also performed.

Visa PABP is a compilation of components aimed at assessing and maintaining the integrity of payment-based applications. With a focus on securing information, restricting access and protecting transmissions and encryption, these practices have set a standard in the payment card industry to mitigate the risk of card information compromise. AmbironTrustWave is a Visa qualified security assessor and has performed the majority of payment application validations listed on the Visa U.S.A. website.

VISA U.S.A.'s List of Validated Payment Applications highlights the specific versions of payment applications that have successfully completed AmbironTrustWave's TrustedApp assessments and are compliant with the PABP standard.

"As a leading processor of credit card transactions, we work with our customers so that transactions are processed in a secure manner," said Phil Mellinger, Chief Information Security Officer of First Data Corporation. "Compliance with PABP and other industry standards is a sound business practice."

"POS Applications represent another critical link in the transaction supply chain and should handle information with the same standard of due care that is mandated among merchants and payment service providers, such as processors and gateways," added Robert J. McCullen, CEO of AmbironTrustWave.