Yesterday, DTN wrote that Fireman's Fund Insurance is offering SME's payment card breach insurance. That kinda gives you an idea how serious of a problem these breaches really are.

Remember, software is 92 times more likely to be breached than hardware. (In 400+ breaches, 92% were "software related" (combining POS and Online Shopping Cart software) while only 1% were hardware related). Source: Trustwave (PDF)

Oh, by the way, the 1% of hardware device breaches were the result of tampering, which is highly unlikely, if not virtually impossible, to occur with your own personal swiping device from HomeATM. I sincerely doubt anyone would break into your home and start fiddling with your personal card swiper and leave your big screen HDTV on the wall...don't you?


So which would you rather use if you were shopping online? A software based application, or a hardware based solution.


With Breaches Rising, Insurer Offers Card-Compromise Coverage


"Fireman’s Fund Insurance Co. this week unveiled what it says is the first coverage available to
small and medium-sized businesses for losses from payment card data breaches. News of the policy came on the same day that a non-profit research organization reported that data breaches increased 47% last year. The idea behind the coverage, according to Brian Gerritsen, product director at Novato, Calif.-based Fireman’s, is to give peace of mind to business owners who are diligent about complying with the Payment Card Industry data-security standard, or PCI, the card networks’ uniform protection rules that all card acceptors are supposed to meet.

Continue reading at Digital Transaction News




Posted by John B. Frank Friday, January 9, 2009

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