If you run your own business, then you know that keeping your customers safe should be one of your top priorities. The consequences of not doing so can be severe, ranging from a damaged reputation to legal trouble.
Luckily, there are easy steps you can take to keep your customers safe and secure. Follow this checklist and rest easy knowing that you’ve done everything in your power to protect those who rely on your services.
Biometric Authentication
Biometric authentication is the process of using a physical characteristic to verify a person’s identity. Examples of biometric authentication include fingerprint authentication, voice authentication, and facial recognition. Biometric technology can also get used to verify identity when it’s not physically possible to do so. For example, by using someone’s retina or iris instead of their fingerprint.
Biometrics is becoming increasingly popular as a way for companies to identify their customers and employees without the need for passwords or usernames. You can check AU10TIX’s authentication which is especially useful if you have multiple locations where customers may visit.
It makes things easier for both you and them. It’s also more secure than traditional methods like passwords because biometrics are unique, no two fingerprints are exactly alike (unless they’re yours).
Mastercard Identity Check
Mastercard Identity Check is a service that uses biometric authentication to verify that the person making a purchase is the actual cardholder. It’s in use in online and mobile transactions, which are highly vulnerable points of entry for credit card fraud because they often occur without human interaction or physical proof of identity.
The way it works is simple. When you make your purchase on an online store using Mastercard, you will get asked to enter your password into your device’s touch screen instead of typing it in manually.
Then, the system will ask you to scan your fingerprint or take a selfie with the camera located on top of your phone (or tablet). If both methods match up with what got entered earlier. If there’s no other factor indicating fraud, your transaction will go through as usual!
Employee Training
To ensure that your employees are prepared for a security breach, it’s important to train them in general best practices. They should know how to spot suspicious activity and understand the importance of protecting customer data. Additionally, you must provide ongoing training as new threats emerge and best practices change over time.
The training provided should reach beyond IT or security staff, reaching all employees who have access to customer data (and ideally everyone). If an employee has personal information about customers on their desktop computer then they need this training as well!
EMV chip-and-pin Technology
EMV chip and pin technology is the standard for credit card payments. It involves inserting a plastic chip into your device and entering a PIN code to verify that you are who you claim to be.
This process provides more security for consumers than signatures because it requires a physical presence on the part of both parties, rather than just one person signing their name. The most common form of EMV payment is called “chip-and-signature”. In this case, you insert your card into a terminal at checkout with no additional verification required beyond confirming your identity by signing the receipt (or providing some other form of ID if requested).
Data Encryption
Data encryption is the process of encoding data in such a way that only authorized parties can access it. Data encryption is a critical security tool that protects data from unauthorized access, both in transit and at rest. Data encryption helps you protect your customers’ sensitive information from theft or loss by encrypting it and turning it into unreadable gibberish.
Penetration Testing
Penetration testing is the process of testing a network or computer system to find security flaws. Penetration testers, often called “white hat” hackers, attempt to break into your system and report back with their findings.
The goal of penetration testing is not to breach your network; it’s simple to uncover weaknesses that a malicious attacker could exploit to gain access. Penetration testers will engage in what they call “ethical hacking” – meaning they won’t use any techniques that are illegal or unethical (such as social engineering).
PCI Compliance
PCI Compliance, or adherence to the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), is essential for merchants to ensure the security of credit card data. These standards are designed to protect sensitive payment information across various systems and networks.
PCI DSS requirement 12.6.1 requires you to use strong cryptography for sensitive data over non-public networks such as the Internet, so you need a public key infrastructure (PKI) solution in place with support for TLS 1.2 at a minimum.
Three-Domain Separation
Separate the data for each domain from the other domains by using a different network, separate storage systems, or both. This means keeping them in different networks and on different storage systems.
This can happen by physical separation or logical separation (using VLANs). Essentially, this step will ensure that any breach does not affect more than one of your customers’ data stores; it also makes it easier to isolate possible breaches when they happen so that they don’t spread further than one customer’s system.
A Layered Approach to Security
Any security solution is only as strong as its weakest link. You can have the most robust, state-of-the-art security possible but still, be vulnerable to hackers if you don’t have equally secure backup plans in place. Most businesses are aware of this concept and use it as a guiding principle when designing their security measures. If one thing fails, there will be another layer of protection that kicks in.
But what does this mean for you? It means that you should look at your company’s overall system (or systems) from multiple perspectives. Then only determine where there might be gaps or weak spots that can get exploited by hackers. If something breaks down, will another part pick up the slack? And how do those parts interact with each other so they work together seamlessly?
By applying a layered approach to security, your business will be able to provide increased protection against cyber threats while also ensuring reliable service delivery during peak periods or even emergencies like natural disasters or network outages.
Conclusion
I hope this information has been helpful. If you’re interested in learning more about the importance of security, I’d suggest checking out some of the other articles on our blog. And if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us!
