The Schellman Blog

Comprised of both the PCI Secure Software Lifecycle (Secure SLC) Standard and PCI Secure Software Standard, the PCI Software Security Framework (SSF) is intended to help secure the design, development, and maintenance of software in payment environments. And while secure coding can be difficult, taking a conceptual approach to software development may make it—and PCI SSF compliance—a little easier.

While most healthcare providers don’t recognize that managing and securing payment data follows the same notions as managing and securing protected health information (PHI), from concept to implementation, these can, and should, work hand in hand.

As in nature, many elements function together to support the payment ecosystem, which—as a whole—creates what is our largely digital economy. Of course, due to the sensitivity of the information contained within that ecosystem, some elements are subject to compliance with the PCI DSS security requirements.

In the legendary Lord of the Rings series, leaders from different societies create a fellowship of nine different people tasked with saving Middle-Earth. The idea wasn’t originally to send nine, and there were obvious reservations about trusting some of the Fellowship with such a serious mission. (Looking at you, Pippin.)

Banking regulation has always been a bit of a tennis match—a back-and-forth between more regulation, and then less. Before the shift to deregulation starting in the 1980s, banks adhered to state and federal banking laws, as well as narrow lines of business. After years of phased-in deregulation, the pendulum swung back. Now regulatory and industry compliance for banks includes more rules than ever before: privacy laws, federal trade regulations, non-bank industry regulations, and community impact reporting.

When it comes to payment card security, the secure exchange of data is a well-known security requirement. It should come as no surprise that, for compliance with the PCI DSS standard, you must define how you do that.

In the classic film Twister, Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt are faced with life or death at the very end. As an F5 tornado bears down on them, they use leather belts to anchor themselves to the ground, keeping themselves from getting swallowed up in the maelstrom.

Picture this: you’re a child getting ready to head to the beach. Your parents grab your swimsuit, sand bucket, towel, flippy floppies, sunscreen, water, and snacks, and you’re all out the door. For you, it’s been a fairly simple operation to have some fun.