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October 2008 Newsletter
Welcome
We're ACSN, here to bring you a warm sense of security through uncertain times. And this is our Autumn newsletter, unseasonably ripe with good news - including what our breakthrough in the payment card industry means for you, and how the new economic climate could be good for your network.
About security
Looking forward to a new sense of security
As governments of the world start to bring balance back to markets, we can begin asking how businesses should respond to a new economic era. At ACSN we believe there's a great opportunity for a fresh start.
16 years of growth has given businesses a false sense of security and expensive, complicated network systems that helped create new types of risk. But the dinosaur days are over - there's a new generation of security tools that makes tackling these risks far easier and more affordable than you might think.
There's never been a better time to explore the innovations now available for protecting information and resources. New tools are designed to layer into your existing system, giving the control and protection you need without breaking the bank.
The trick when choosing new security products is to include operational costs as well as capital outlay: you may find a simple upgrade cuts time spent on audits or troubleshooting down to a fraction.
We've always taken an open and agnostic approach to suppliers at ACSN, so we're ideally placed and ready to help you face the challenge. These may be uncertain times, but at least we can help you bring one thing within reach: the way to a new sense of security.
How to beat card fraud
Our new payment card industry accreditation comes with good news for anyone offering a service that uses payment cards: peace of mind is easy and affordable. Unfortunately it's too late for TJX, owners of the TK Maxx chain of shops. They're about to find out what the biggest payment card heist in history has cost them.
In July 2005 Hackers accessed TGX computer systems in Watford, Hertfordshire and installed software to harvest customer account information such as bank details, addresses and driving licence numbers. It led to 45.7 million accounts being compromised over nearly two years.
The process of compensating TGX customers is now coming to an end and the message is clear: the vendor pays for inadequate payment card security - but the risk is easily and affordably prevented. As PCI experts we can give you the certainty that your payment card systems are protected from the risk of fraud.
About us
ACSN become major players in the PCI effort on card fraud
New figures suggest UK consumers lost £302m to card fraud in the first six months of this year, an increase of 14% compared with the first half of 2007*.
The payment card industry (PCI) is taking the issue of security seriously. To protect cardholders, the PCI Security Standards Council requires all merchants and service providers to have their internet-facing environments checked by Approved Scanning Vendors (ASVs).
We are now one of the few companies to hold full accreditation as a PCI-Approved Scanning Vendor, so we can take you through the whole process of self-assessing your PCI infrastructure components.
Winning PCI accreditation has been a big investment for us. It builds on our core business of audit, compliance and security testing and is a big step forward in the scope of service we offer.
So we're properly chuffed and eager as anything to start passing on the benefits to our clients. Do call us and find out how we can help you beat card fraud.
*source: APACS (Association of Payment Clearing Services)
New faces
Sharon Knight joins us as a business development consultant. She brings heaps of energy (some of which she channels into triathlons) plus a wealth of experience as a process analyst, coordinating projects for clients such as Citigroup. And importantly for us she's definitely a people person, ready to get stuck in working side by side with our clients.
David Macphail joins us as an associate technical consultant. With a Cambridge doctorate in Russian literature and City-based commercial IT experience, he's all set for any intellectual challenge we can throw at him - though we'll make sure he gets some time for his photography and scuba diving.
About You
Special delivery
We thought it was time we started sharing news from our clients. Take Curt Silver for example. He's associate director of information management & technology at Ofgem (office of gas and electricity markets), so he has a key role in the processes that support and grow business and protect intellectual assets for the company. Curt grew up in South Africa. He trained and worked previously as an architect, before joining Ofgem in 2000.
We've been working with Curt and Ofgem for two years, and we've learnt that he loves an unusual challenge. This year he and three friends set themselves a task: take a freshly cooked pizza from Johannesburg, put it in a freezer on a motorbike and deliver it to London in under 39 days, setting a new record for the longest overland pizza delivery. Find out what happened here:
We want to share more news about our clients' day-to-day work experiences (not necessarily involving extreme pizza delivery) so we'd love to hear from you.
About Life
Chip & PIN pays off
When they arrived in 2004, Chip & PIN cards came as a shock for a nation fond of writing signatures and still adjusting to decimal coinage. It meant new rituals - stabbing those stiff rubber keys in front of a queue of shoppers, hunched in the shielding position to keep all eyes off the precious number, with the dread of getting it wrong once; twice...
Waiters who once offered you pen and paper at the end of a meal would now hand over a chunky toy calculator device, and hover while you worked out how to add a tip. Then there was the strange acupuncturist's language: Enter your pin!
Now we're all experts, we've forgotten the pain, it's just another part of everyday culture - and at last there's evidence it was all worth it. Between January and June this year Chip & PIN helped us cut card fraud losses by around a quarter compared with 2005. So three cheers for Chip & PIN.
In this issue
Looking forward to a new sense of security