How to Achieve Data Breach Protection in the Era of Big Data

Q> How do I protect my payments and data in the era of high profile data breaches?

Data breaches are no joke. The damage extends to both customers and merchants in a variety of ways. The most obvious victims of a data breach are the customers who have their personal information stolen. These individuals are at risk for identity theft, which affected almost 13 million U.S. consumers last year, according to the 2015 Identity Fraud Study by Javelin Strategy & Research.[1] Merchants also – and especially – suffer, both in the direct and instantaneous fraud ramifications of a breach as well as from the long-lasting impacts. Breaches contribute to consumer fears about identity theft. Consumers consistently report avoiding merchants that have been breached, fearing they will become victims of identity theft. That can significantly impact a merchant’s bottom line for months or even years down the line.
This month, we compiled insight from industry leaders on how to protect payments and data even amidst some of the most infamous data breaches of all time.
Here is what the experts are saying:
Institute end user security awareness.  End user security awareness training can often be an overlooked aspect to a comprehensive fraud prevention and security strategy. This is unfortunate since this type of training can evolve the company culture to become more security minded, help eliminate costly security mistakes that can lead to a breach and raise awareness of peculiar behavior that may signal fraudsters or malicious insiders.
 
Get outside help to monitor risk and exposure. Retaining a neutral third-party vendor to evaluate your risk can provide a clear picture of where your organization is vulnerable. By knowing where risk exists, organizations can formulate and implement a comprehensive incident response plan in case of an incident. Research shows that this type of plan can effectively lower the average cost of a breach by $17 per record.
 
Don’t assume you’re protected. Two of the biggest misunderstandings when it comes to breaches are 1) that the government covers business bank accounts if they are hacked, and 2) that general liability insurance covers the consequences of a data breach. Neither of these is true since Federal regulations only protection personal accounts from fraud and general liability doesn’t cover losses due to third-party providers or breaches. Merchants’ best bet is to have a “security first” mentality and to leave behind unfounded assumptions that they are protected from the repercussions of a breach.
 
Implement Layered Fraud Prevention. Breaches are expensive in their own right, but the downstream impacts of chargebacks can be costly, too. Merchants should focus on end-to-end protection of data that doesn’t restrict sales. It’s smart to have strong fraud defense strategies in place…But it’s also costly to be too restrictive. Misplaced or rigid fraud measures create “false positives” and lengthy manual review processes that drain resources and create unnecessary friction in the checkout process. Merchants should use a variety of tools that address multiple areas of vulnerability, including AVS, CVV2, pattern-based intelligence, biometrics and total chargeback management solutions.
Data breaches are not a thing of the past. New ones happen every day and the best thing a merchant can do is to put security first. It’s better to be safe than sorry, especially when consumers report avoiding merchants that have suffered a breach. Don’t be the next data breach victim – secure your payments process from end to end and implement total chargeback management to ensure that your protected against the downstream impacts (chargebacks) of other breaches that happen.
Verifi’s flexible, global payment processing platform can help you streamline and secure your payment processing. Our processor-agnostic “Super Gateway” offers the stability of a best-in-breed processing platform that is agile enough to evolve alongside tomorrow’s emerging threats. The Gateway plugs in with our fraud prevention tools to provide a frictionless, end-to-end experience. The Gateway works seamlessly with Verifi’s Intelligence® Suite, Cardholder Dispute Resolution Network™ (CDRN) and Chargeback Representment  to protect your payments across the entire transaction lifecycle. The “Super Gateway” provides omni-channel, end-to-end payment protection with customizable fraud tools, Total Chargeback Management and the ability to improve authorizations by up to 20%.
Don’t forget to download our updated ebook: What Every Card Not Present Merchant Should Know: Navigating Today’s Challenging Payment Ecosystem? Get it now!
Contact us to find out how to secure your payment from end-to-end and guard against data breaches. What are your thoughts? Ping us on twitter (@verifi) with #paymentstips and let us know what you think.
[1] https://www.iii.org/fact-statistic/identity-theft-and-cybercrime