Global discretionary spending intentions declined or remained steady in the first quarter across all lifestyle categories. While confidence across global regions remained relatively stable in the first quarter, there is considerable variation across different markets.
San Francisco-based Weebly has teamed with Square. Small businesses can build a website, blog and eCommerce store with Weebly and sync it directly to their Square account, streamlining purchases both online and offline.
Retail sales are expected to grew between 4.1% this year, up 17% over 2014. It represents the biggest annual growth since 2011 when retail sales for the year increased 5.1%.
San Jose-based Vormetric IT audit firm Coalfire has released guidance for using Vormetric Transparent Encryption to satisfy Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) 3.0 requirements in sections 3, 7, 8, 9, 10 & 11 within VMware environments.
GlobalPlatform has published the first Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) Protection Profile (PP)*. The document defines the level of security required in a TEE hosted in a mobile device to support the delivery of a range of value added services including premium content and mobile wallets, as well as enterprises and governments supporting bring your own device (BYOD) initiatives. GlobalPlatform members have published the market’s first PP for TEE products; a secure area that resides in the main processor of a mobile device and ensures that sensitive data is stored, processed and protected in a secure environment. The document identifies the security needs of the TEE to support different market requirements by combining the standard security methodology outlined by Common Criteria, with the best practice specifications as defined by GlobalPlatform in relation to TEE architecture and interfaces**.
Cypress Semiconductor announced Ezetap mPOS solutions is using Cypress’s “CapSense Express” controllers in the world’s first capacitive-touch-based PIN-pad in its new MPOS device. The CY8CMBR2016 matrix keypad solution provides the Ezetap MPOS device with a durable user interface, helping it to pass all of the stringent EMVCo and PCI global certifications required for PIN entry devices. Consumer electronics and home appliances have rapidly been transitioning from mechanical buttons to capacitive touch controls. The EMV and PCI certifications are extremely strict due to the need to protect customer PINs against a broad range of attacks, while ensuring compatibility across a range of payment cards. Ezetap was able to go from concept, to certification, to manufacturing in less than a year.
Citigroup has been ranked the greenest bank in the United States by Newsweek magazine on the annual Newsweek “Green Rankings.” This comprehensively assess the environmental performance of the largest publicly traded companies in the U.S. and around the world, for which Citi was ranked the 17th in the United States- the highest ranking of any U.S.-based bank for the second year in a row. This is thanks to its role in the creation of the Equator Principles and Carbon Principles, two standards for addressing environmental and social risks in the financial sector, and its $50 billion Climate Initiative aimed at supporting renewable energy, energy efficiency and clean technology. Also, Citi has directed over $36.4 billion as part of the 10-year initiative announced in 2007, including financing for two of the world’s largest solar energy projects.
According to Retail Systems Research (RSR) “eCommerce 2012: Back to the Future” study, retailers increasingly rely on their eCommerce platforms. The 94 retailers surveyed in this benchmark report that they are investing in content management and product-level social media integration, and delaying investments in in-store platforms like point of sale as they evaluate potential in-store uses for their eCommerce platforms. Top challenges to this include understanding how different customer segments engage online and difficulty coordinating with other channels to create a seamless cross-channel experience.
Terremark has received certification that six of its cloud-enabled data centers are compliant with the PCI DSS version 2.0. Terremark’s commercial and government customers that process credit card transactions can manage and house their business-critical applications knowing the supporting infrastructure is protected at the industry-recognized standard for payment-card security. Terremark underwent an extensive evaluation of its policies, procedures and technical systems by a third-party qualified security assessor. The examination also included on-site assessments and an audit of Terremark’s system wide vulnerability scan program at these data centers.
Terremark received certification that six of its cloud-enabled data centers are compliant with the PCI DSS version 2.0. Terremark’s commercial and government customers that process credit card transactions can manage and house their business-critical applications knowing the supporting infrastructure is protected at the industry-recognized standard for payment-card security. Terremark underwent an extensive evaluation of its policies, procedures and technical systems by a third-party qualified security assessor. The examination also included on-site assessments and an audit of Terremark’s system wide vulnerability scan program at these data centers. Terremark data centers also achieved various other certifications and are backed by stringent Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and are supported by a number of redundant subsystems designed to alleviate single points of failure throughout the delivery path.
HyTrust published a newly updated reference architecture for Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) 2.0 compliant clouds. Industry leaders HyTrust, VMware, Savvis, Trend Micro, Cisco and Coalfire – all core members of the PCI DSS Virtualization Special Interest Group (vSIG), and following months of collaboration – have published a white paper that outlines the new configuration guidelines and provides a comprehensive “best practices” reference architecture. Implemented and tested in a Savvis advanced-technology lab, the reference architecture is optimized to address the unique challenges of virtualization and cloud environments.
NNT PCI DSS and general security and compliance solutions launched Version 5 of its NNT Change Tracker and NNT Log Tracker Enterprise software suite. The software is specifically designed to improve payment security and protect against network threats and data breaches in-line with the PCI Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), which requires organizations that store, process or transmit customer payment card data to adhere to information security controls and processes that ensure data protection. NNT Change Tracker manages the file integrity monitoring (FIM), system hardening and configuration change monitoring aspects of the PCI DSS, enabling organizations to audit IT systems for vulnerabilities and then set a baseline to monitor changes to configurations, file systems, registries and settings, with an easy to use and secure dashboard that ensures systems are, and remain, compliant.