Three Year Extension Granted By PCI Council (PCI/DSS)

Three Year Extension Granted By PCI Council (PCI/DSS)

The PCI Security Standards Council has allowed merchants and others more time to assess and facilitate their compliance with payment card security standards. The standards are issued by the PCI Security Standards Council, and the council decided to extend the standards review and issuance cycle from two years to three. "It gives us the ability to gather a lot more feedback, and consider market dynamics and emerging threats." PCI council general manager Bob Russo continued, “It gives merchants more time to understand [the standards.

The PCI Security Standards Council will issue its updated PCI Data Security Standard (DSS) this October on schedule, but it will not go into effect until Jan. 1, 2011. DSS and the Payment Application DSS and PIN Transaction Standard will also switch to a three-year cycle in the future as. The current version of PCI/DSS will be officially retired after Dec. 31, 2011. The 14-month phase-out allows retailers currently doing a PCI DSS 1.2 evaluation to continue the process. Standards updates should end in the April to August 2012 timeframe and the summary of revisions concluded in the May to July 2013 timeframe.

While PCI/DDS compliance is essential, it is important for merchants and the general public to understand that any technology in the wrong hands can lead to fraud. As one safeguard is created, the crooks find a way around it. Check out all service providers before entering into any agreements.

Loretta Hunnicutt