Law Enforcement Agencies Share Information at Recent Meeting of Payments Processor Information Sharing Council
DULLES, Va.-(Business Wire)-September 28, 2009 - At the recent meeting of the Payments Processor Information Sharing Council (PPISC), law enforcement agencies ― including the US Secret Service, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice and US Postal Inspectors ― discussed the current environment of data breaches and ways they might work with the PPISC to share relevant information with members. The PPISC is a specially focused subgroup of the Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center (FS-ISAC), the leading industry venue for confidential information sharing and collaboration on critical security threats facing the financial services sector.
More than 40 professionals representing 29 payments processing companies and law enforcement agencies attended the September meeting. PPISC member companies now include 12 of the top 15 merchant acquirers and represent more than 75% of all electronic payment transaction volumes processed in the nation today.
“The PPISC has become the focal point for sharing threat information within the card processing community,” commented Bill Nelson, FS-ISAC’s president and chief executive officer. “As a result, member firms are improving their layered defense strategies against new attack vectors. For example, during and immediately following the meeting, PPISC members shared threat data and received the most recent attack signatures from both a Qualified Incident Response Assessor (QIRA) and law enforcement. The group also learned about the latest threat intelligence information from a major private sector firm specializing in that space and received a confidential law enforcement update on the status of investigations against the most prominent threat actors.”
An organizational charter detailing the PPISC’s mission, membership and governance structure ― which will be voted on for ratification by members in October ― was also discussed and developed at the meeting.
“The mission of the PPISC is to bring together stakeholders in the payments arena to develop solutions, identify best practices and facilitate the exchange of information that will result in a more efficient and secure use of electronic payments and related policies,” explained Bob Carr, chairman and chief executive officer of Heartland Payment Systems. “Since its initial meeting in May of this year, the council has attracted a committed membership representing a broad base of key stakeholders. Seven of the largest eight payment processors (as identified in the March 2009 Nilson Report) are now members. As we move forward with working groups that will address the unique information-sharing requirements of the payment processing industry, we hope the remaining payments processors will also become participants.”
Membership in the PPISC is open to credit and debit card payments processors owned and operated by depository financial institutions and third-party processors that conduct their activities in concert with FS-ISAC’s operating rules. These include signing a non-disclosure agreement, adhering to payment industry regulations, best practices and the highest ethical standards.
For more information on joining the PPISC, visit www.fsisac.com and www.ppisc.com or contact 703.948.4172.
About FS-ISAC
Launched in 1999, FS-ISAC was established by the financial services sector in response to 1998's Presidential Directive 63. That directive ― later updated by 2003's Homeland Security Presidential Directive 7 ― mandated that the public and private sectors share information about physical and cyber security threats and vulnerabilities to help protect the U.S. critical infrastructure.
Constantly gathering reliable and timely information from financial services providers, commercial security firms, federal, state and local government agencies, law enforcement and other trusted resources, the FS-ISAC is now uniquely positioned to quickly disseminate physical and cyber threat alerts and other critical information to your organization. This information includes analysis and recommended solutions from leading industry experts.
 |
 |
 |
|
||
 |
|
 |
|
||
Search Our News Using Google Search
Can't find what you want? Try using Google:
