Daily Scanning and PCI compliance logo are great indicators of a sites security once they get your credit card information. The prior post discusses secure communication, this post will cover what happens after you make the purchase and the SSL certificate is no longer a factor.
PCI Compliance is basically compliance with the rules that govern how credit card information is handled. In a perfect world, a PCI compliant vendor would never lose your credit card data to a hacker or thief.
Users and tell if a site is PCI compliant by looking for a PCI compliance logo. Compliance means that they have been trained and their system tested to insure that they are not likely to lose a users confidential data.
Several scanLogo vendors are available:
Hacker Proof Verisign Trust Seal Trustwave
These are expensive, costing as much as $1000 a year, so some small businesses may be secure, but unable to afford to purchase a scan vendor to prove it.
12:07 pm on March 4th, 2010 1
Good post – It’s something that is very important to ecommerce businesses. I also feel that trust seals do carry weight and reduce the bounce rate however $1000,00 is a little pricey.
12:35 pm on March 4th, 2010 2
MagicAngel….
Should refer to our site for a more cost effective solution than what you list, oh and we provide malware detection for free
http://www.sitesecuritymonitor.com/ssm-advantage/
12:50 pm on March 4th, 2010 3
Unfortunately, security scanning isn’t about price. There is really little difference between a scan that costs $99 per year and a scan that costs $999 per year, other than the company name behind the scan logo. Verisign can demand the higher price because they have brand recognition. As of now, companies like Verisign can demand a higher price and as long as ecommerce companies are willing to pay, there isn’t any reason that they shouldn’t. Competition should lower those prices, but I see the trend continuing. For example, prices for SSL certificates continue to rise, rather than fall over time.
12:52 pm on March 4th, 2010 4
I agree, the $1000 price tag is a bit steep. I recommend that my customers use what they can afford and not get the top end product if it is a major strain on their budget.