Entries by Chris Coe

What are the benefits of joining our Partner Channel?

As the attended telephony landscape becomes increasingly competitive, companies are always on the lookout for ways to increase revenue and grow their customer base. One effective way to achieve this is by partnering with service providers to resell services. This approach not only helps companies expand their reach but also provides a way to offer […]

PCI Telecom acquisition of RealCredit

PCI Telecom is pleased to announce our forthcoming acquisition of RealCredit^, a Level 1 PCI DSS accredited payment service provider specialising in bespoke, value-add payment solutions. The official date for the change of ownership is 4th January 2022. PCI Telecom is an established, ambitious UK telephony specialist, delivering bespoke solutions to businesses across all markets. […]

Is it safe to give out your CVV security code?

If you regularly shop online, you will be familiar with your security code, or CVV (card verification value), a 3-4 digit code on the back of your card (or front with American Express), which is intended to provide added security when making purchases as the cardholder should be the only person who knows what it […]

Five top tips to prevent your card being hacked

Whilst almost half of Europeans worry about the safety of their data, and 59% experiencing data protection issues in the past, there are steps you can take to protect yourself from card fraud. Read below for our five top tips to protect yourself from credit or debit card hacks. #1: Text message notifications for suspicious […]

As a small business, why should I comply with PCI DSS?

You may have heard of PCI compliance and you may be thinking, why do I have to comply? For smaller businesses, PCI compliance may seem daunting, confusing and not something you know much about. This blog aims to give you the benefits of being compliant in comparison to non-compliance and the potential result of being […]

2015 Information security breaches survey from PwC highlights the importance of protecting your business from data breaches

This years’ survey undertaken by PwC has revealed that 90% of large organisations and 74% of small businesses have suffered a security breach; an increase compared with figures of 81% and 60% in 2014 respectively. The average cost of a security breach to a large organisation has almost tripled, costing between £1.46m – £3.14m on […]

A third of employees would sell your company data for the right price

A recent study undertaken by security company Clearswift has revealed that 35 percent of employees in the UK, Germany, US and Australia were open to selling company data including company patents, financial records and customer credit card details for bribes of upto £50,000 risking both their jobs and criminal convictions. Alarmingly, 25 percent of the […]

PCI Compliance ‘merchant levels’ – where do you fit?

You may have heard of the four PCI compliance merchant levels and may be slightly confused as to which level your business fits into. It really is quite simple, however, and the merchant levels are defined by Visa and are based on transaction volume over a 12 month period as per below: Merchant Level Description […]

Payment Industry Acronyms

There are many abbreviations in use within the payments industry and sometimes it can feel like it has its own language. Here are five commonly used acronyms and their meanings explained: PCI DSS – this stands for Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard which is a set of security requirements for ALL businesses that handle […]

DTMF suppression explained

Traditionally the only way organisations have maintained PCI compliance is to keep call archives data-free. In the past, techniques such as switching off call recording altogether or pausing and resuming recording have been used. Whilst these can be considered PCI compliant, it is still allowing your employees access to the card details and it also […]

World’s Biggest Data Breaches

Last week we discussed how a data breach could affect your business. This week we will be taking a look at some of the biggest data breaches to occur in the world. Here are just three examples of the biggest data breaches to occur in the world so far: Heartland Payment Systems 2008-2009: 130 million […]

How a data breach could affect your business

According to a survey conducted by Experian, two in five British adults have been affected by data breaches and the City of London Police state that around one in four UK adults have been victims of identity crime, losing on average £1,200 each. Around 7 in 10 people think that the responsibility of protecting their […]

What is PCI DSS Compliance? The Basics

Whilst it is obvious that PCI compliance is an important topic for businesses, it can also be incredibly complicated to understand. Before you can look into becoming compliant, it is essential that you have a basic understanding of what exactly PCI compliance is and also the requirements which has been set by the Payment Card […]