While there is a world of difference between a deck of 52 and a deck of credit cards, it is still wise to hold those payment cards close to the vest. A solid part of protecting those cards from prying eyes is ensuring your insurance firm is compliant with the Payment Card Industry’s Data Security Standard.
Is PCI compliance important to insurers? Every carrier CTO and CIO I have asked has said , “Yes, it is…and we are working on it now.” I’d venture to say, as with all compliance and risk management it is not a one-and-done effort, as regular reviews are required.
Today, April 14, 2011, Cisco announced its newest work in the area of helping companies across all industries comply with the PCI DSS 2.0 guidelines. And since the PCI DSS guidelines apply to all companies—including insurance—that transmit, process or store credit card transactions and cardholder information, I’ve recorded a video in which I discuss the PCI DSS standard and its applicability to insurance.
Cisco is at the table with its customers when it comes to enabling PCI compliance and is an active member of the Payment Card Industry Securities Standard Council’s Board of Advisors. We completed a new Cisco Design and Implementation Guide that includes 30+ Cisco and technology partner products that have been examined by an auditor.
Technologies involved in the assessment include core routing, switching and wireless, plus collaboration and physical security technologies.
On the web team, we’re always experimenting with new functions to make your life easier. The latest is an interactive product comparison module, that allows you to filters views of models by different criteria, and build a dynamic side-by-side comparison showing the different attributes of the models you’ve selected.
Here’s how it works: Let’s say you want to compare the features of the models in the 100 series. When you go to the comparison page, you’ll see the complete list, partially shown here:
You can check and compare straightaway, or filter the list (via the control box on the left) to make it more focused. In this case, I have filtered on Gigabit Ethernet just as an example, which sizes down the list:
Then check off the boxes you want to compare, press the Compare button, and you’ll be presented with a side-by-side listing showing the various features and attributes of the various models:
We’re thinking of using this elsewhere around the site, so give it a try and let us know what you think.
Small businesses in the U.S. spend more than $60 billion annually on energy, according to Energy Star, a joint program of the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy. Although there are many steps you can take to reduce your company’s power consumption, have you considered building energy efficiency into your network?
Whether you’re just starting to build your small business network or expanding it to accommodate your growing company, a “green” switch can help save money on your utility bill as well as contribute to a cleaner environment. Here are some features to consider when shopping for an energy-efficient switch:
