Payment security compliance declines – Only 1 in 3 companies globally make the grade and just 1 in 5 in the Americas

Verizon’s 2019 Payment Security Report highlights why compliance matters, and offers measures to combat the downward compliance trend

What you need to know:

Companies that maintain full compliance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) decrease for the second year in a row to 36.7 percent worldwide.

Only 1-in-5 organizations in the Americas maintain full compliance; Companies in Asia-Pacific dominate.

Verizon’s 9-5-4 Framework addresses elements to help develop and improve capability and process maturity across an entire data protection compliance program (DPCP).

BASKING RIDGE, N.J., Nov. 12, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Payment security compliance has declined for the second year in a row, with organizations based in the Americas lagging behind worldwide counterparts, Verizon’s 2019 Payment Security Report (2019 PSR) flags.

When Visa Inc. initially launched the PCI DSS in 2004, many assumed that organizations would achieve effective and sustainable compliance within five years. Now, 15 years on, the number of businesses achieving and maintaining compliance has dropped from 52.5 percent (2018 PSR) to a low of just 36.7 percent worldwide. Geographically, organizations in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region show a stronger ability to maintain full compliance at 69.6 percent, compared to 48 percent in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and just 20.4 percent (1 in 5) in the Americas.

New Verizon framework helps businesses navigate payment security compliance

Data protection and compliance present daily challenges. Many organizations believe they can use a one-size-fits-all script to achieve effective and sustainable data protection. However, in the real world, security is more complicated.

Link reinforced between lack of compliance and breaches

The report also includes data from the Verizon Threat Research Advisory Center (VTRAC), which demonstrates that a compliance program without the proper controls to protect data has a more than 95 percent probability of not being sustainable and is more likely to be a potential target of a cyberattack.

About the Verizon 2019 Payment Security Report

This year’s report focuses on performance visibility, control and maturity of DPCPs. It includes results from 302 PCI DSS engagements for a range of organizations, including Fortune 500 and large multinational firms in more than 60 countries. The assessments were conducted by Verizon’s team of PCI Qualified Security Assessors (QSAs), as well as large third-party QSAs, including ControlScan, Foregenix, MegaplanIT and Schellman.

VERIZON’S ONLINE MEDIA CENTER: News releases, stories, media contacts and other resources are available at www.verizon.com/about/news/. News releases are also available through an RSS feed. To subscribe, visit www.verizon.com/about/rss-feeds/.