Alpine Access Validated To Protect Consumer Financial Info
February 14, 2008
Home-agent-based contact center company Alpine Access announced today that it has validated compliance with the Payment Credit Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) as a Level 1 service provider. After significant financial investment and over a year of continuous work, the company reports that it now complies with the most rigorous level of security testing to reduce fraud as certified by a third-party security assessor.
As a Level 1 compliant service provider, Alpine Access has controls and procedures in place to protect customer privacy and reduce the risk of security breaches in accordance with the 12 requirements put forth by the PCI DSS. The standard required Alpine Access to secure thousands of home-office locations along with its entire corporate network and data infrastructure.
“The trust our clients and their customers place in us is something we take very seriously. The significant investment we’ve made in achieving PCI Service Level 1 compliance is well worth it to further protect our clients’ databases and give them peace of mind knowing their information is safe with us,” said Christopher M. Carrington, CEO of Alpine Access. “Attaining this certification is a tremendous accomplishment for our entire organization. It is just one more way we continue to support our clients with the very best service available.”
The PCI DSS is a comprehensive set of security requirements intended to help companies protect personal customer data. The standard is the result of a collaborative effort from five major credit card brands including American Express, DiscoverCard, JCB, Mastercard and Visa. It includes objectives for security management, policies, procedures, network architecture, software design and other critical protective measures. For more information about the standard or the PCI Security Standards Council, go to www.pcisecuritystandards.org
Coalfire Systems, Inc., a qualified security assessor company, conducted the testing of controls in accordance with Level 1 service provider audit procedures. After completing testing of the 12 requirements in January 2008, Coalfire validated that Alpine Access had validated full compliance with all PCI DSS requirements.
“PCI standards are by far the highest level of controls we certify,” said Rick Dakin, president and co-founder of Coalfire Systems. “With Level 1 compliance validation, Alpine Access’ clients get a better level of service without giving up any of the corporate controls found in an environment where customer service representatives work in cubicles. It’s the best of both worlds.”
