|
DSI: Data Security Investigation |
|
|
|
|
EPISODE ONE
The following account of a data security breach is fictional, but the details describe the way security breaches do occur in the real world. It was written by an anonymus executive officer at a data security firm, and by Richard Gamble.
June 12, 2008, Bangalore, India: Rajiv Chandri rides his bicycle seven miles to the office where he works as a database administrator for an Indian firm that provides outsource services to multinational corporations and checks in with his badge at security checkpoint. He’s worried because his wife was recently laid off from her telemarketing job and the auto company has repossessed their car. Using his super-user credentials, he logs in to the CRN database for QualitiMart, a large U.S.-based retailer, to check on the status of daily backups. Then, just for the fun of it, he runs a “SELECT” query on the credit card table. Not surprisingly, the query returns hundreds of thousands of credit card transactions for QualitiMart stores. He logs off quickly and a little guiltily, but he’s not really worried because he knows that his actions aren’t being monitored. Download the full PDF |
|
|
Object Lessons: Secrets of Buying & Selling |
|
|
|
|
Many players in the electronic payments arena have, at some time, contemplated either starting an ISO/MSP operation or selling an existing one. However, establishing a business of any kind is, for lack of a better term, risky business: More than 50 percent of small businesses fail in the first year and 95 percent fail within the first five years, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration. Mergers and acquisitions don’t fare much better: By most estimates, 50 to 80 percent of companies formed as a result of such deals never generate any value. Even if a venture does beat these odds, completing the start-up or sales process is a learning experience from which other ISOs/ MSPs can benefit.
“Whether you’re just beginning or getting out of the business, there’s no such thing as a perfect sequence of events,” says Richard Brennes, president of The Brennes- Jones Group, a Dallas-based ISO. “There are always things that could—and probably should—have been done differently, as well as things that were handled exactly right.”
Download the full PDF |
|
|
In general, I believe that with every success comes a responsibility to give back to the community,” says Joe Kaplan, president and CEO of Innovative Merchant Solutions.
While the sentiment that with success comes responsibility toward the greater good is a noble one, what Kaplan says next is stunning: “Personally, all of my salary is donated to charity.”
During a time that both economists and laypeople agree is a financial nightmare— particularly for institutions such as banks, as well as ISOs and other transactionprocessing companies—people like Kaplan and other entrepreneurs are still finding ways to give back to the community, and they often encourage their employees to do the same.
Download the full PDF |
|
|
With a continued focus on strategies to drive future payments business, ETA’s 2008 Strategic Leadership & Networking Forum featured speakers and expert panelists who discussed the industry from a number of perspectives. And while their individual perceptions varied, they all agreed that the rapidly changing industry is forcing salespeople to adopt a new skill set in order to compete.
In addition to selling a value proposition and having a clear understanding of industry issues, the most profitable salespeople will need to become the following:
Download the full PDF |
|
|
Lessons in 21st Century Crime |
|
|
|
|
As online fraud surges, a thorough understanding of new tactics and defenses can help ISOs and processors position themselves as trusted merchant advisors, rather than mere products providers. Knowledgeable advice not only helps merchants keep fraudsters at bay, it acts as an ISO or processor’s value-add and a point of differentiation.
Statistics tell the story: Online payment fraud accounted for 1.4 percent of online revenue—approximately $3.6 billion—last year, according to a report released earlier this year by electronic payment and risk management solutions provider CyberSource. While credit card fraud as a percentage of total sales losses has trended downward since 2004, losses due to fraud are trending upward as more merchants— including small- to medium-sized players struggling to compete against their cyber-savvy counterparts—begin riding the Internet wave.
Download the full PDF |
|
|
|
Online Issues 
