Protect Your POS: 3 Steps to Physical and Cyber Security

During the holidays, we enjoy the thrill of a busy store, high purchase volume, and increased revenue.

But consequently, fraud exposure will also increase, and your point-of-sale (POS) devices and infrastructure are tempting targets. Preventing fraud during such a busy season demands increased vigilance. Merchants must implement procedures to secure transactions, both in person and online.

POS equipment includes highly effective, pre-programmed fraud-protection measures. However, POS devices can be altered, so it’s a good idea to monitor POS equipment and the people who handle it — especially during high-traffic sales times.

In addition to skimming techniques that crooks use to capture card data at POS terminals, attackers will also try to get direct access to your business network and even the operating systems inside your POS equipment.

[sidebar]For more equipment security tips, download the PCI-SSC guide Skimming Prevention Best Practices for Merchants.[/sidebar]

For example, they may install malware to collect credit card information. A common way for attackers to put malware on systems is through an email attachment, often disguised as a customer complaint. Click the attachment and — bam! — a malware downloader is installed on your system. Many types of malware are stealthy, running behind the scenes without being detected.

Key steps

There are three important steps you can take to minimize the risk of these threats affecting your business:

• Educate. Create a culture of security within your business by teaching yourself and your employees about security risks and phishing. Enforce a strict password policy, limiting systems access and using frequently-changed, hard-to-guess passwords. Use powerful Internet security software on your systems and your POS terminals — not free antivirus programs, but comprehensive suites that are automatically updated.

• Get insured. If a data breach does happen, it is sure to be expensive — forensic audits can cost $15,000 or more. Add fines from card issuers and card replacement costs and you could face a crippling bill. Low-premium data breach insurance through Veracity can cover you for up to $50,000 of losses — but once you realize you’re a potential victim, it’s too late to use that insurance safety net for this event.

• Be compliant. Ensure you’re compliant with the security standards of the payment cards industry (PCI). Collectively, these standards represent data security best practices. Ensure your PCI scans are up to date and certified at all times.

Veracity will work with you to implement and simplify these processes. We can review your PCI status and guide you through steps necessary to get compliant — and help you stay there! We are also your reliable resource when you have questions regarding your equipment and potential security risks.

[cta]Veracity is committed to making it easy for our merchants to get — and stay — compliant. Contact us at 866-944-0055 or by email to see how we can help.[/cta]