FFIEC News

Exposing Security Shortcomings of PCI Compliance-in-a-Box; Real-Time Correlation Is Critical

(July 30, 2008)-- TriGeo Network Security,provider of security information and event management (SIEM) technology for mid-market enterprises, is providing real-time correlation to help meet 11 of the 12 Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) Requirements. While log aggregators only provide after-the-fact breach forensics, TriGeo Security Information Manager (SIM) analyzes user and network actions as they occur to identify, correlate and block unauthorized insider and hacker activity. This approach helps merchants comply with PCI by providing policies, controls and visibility across the network to safeguard credit card data.

"PCI compliance -- and security in general -- are ongoing processes, requiring network logs to constantly be analyzed and correlated for unusual and authorized patterns," said David Taylor, founder of the PCI Knowledge Base(TM). "Post-breach log analysis offers little comfort to victimized organizations and their customers."
Grocery store chain Hannaford, for example, recently revealed that malicious software recorded credit card data in transit, exposing thousands of account numbers -- even though it was PCI compliant at the time of the breach. The lessons: compliance is not synonymous with security, and hackers will continue to evolve their attack methods to exploit network weaknesses.

"The ultimate goal is to fully secure data and systems, not comply with PCI or any other regulation," said Michelle Dickman, president and CEO of TriGeo Network Security. "Merchants need intelligence, insight and actionable information about network activities. Logs stuffed into a server and check-box reports give organizations a false sense of protection."

"Every penny mid-market companies spend on IT has to pay off," said Dickman. "While promising PCI compliance in a box is a profitable approach, it doesn't work -- because those products lack the real-time correlation, analysis and response required to protect cardholder data from today's and tomorrow's threats."
TriGeo SIM gives merchants more than 600 pre-built rules and 240 reports -- dozens dedicated to PCI -- for data and network protection, and the ability to easily create new rules and reports on the fly to meet any new requirements or data security needs. TriGeo's customer base of hundreds of mid-market organizations includes dozens of banks, retailers, non-profit organizations and other merchants that must abide by PCI standards.

"There are dozens of products on the market that promise PCI compliance. TriGeo is the only one we found that provides real-time analysis -- at an affordable price," said Brady Decker, CTO at the National Aquarium in Baltimore. "We had an immediate need to pass our PCI audits, but the more important long-term goal is strong security."

TriGeo SIM goes far beyond log management, providing the standard documentation of all machine, user and network activity, plus proactive responses such quarantining, blocking, routing and controlling services, processes, accounts and privileges in real time -- at a price starting below $20,000.

For additional information about TriGeo please visit  www.TriGeo.com.

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