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Web Hosting Reviews – WAKEFIELD, Mass. & LONDON – The PCI Security Standards Council (PCI SSC), a global, open industry standards body providing management of the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), PIN Transaction Security (PTS) requirements and the Payment Application Data Security Standard (PA-DSS), today announced a milestone in ongoing momentum and global participation – more than 100 European companies are now PCI Participating Organizations, promising a strong showing for this year’s PCI European Community Meeting on October 17-19, 2011, in London, England.

The Council is made up of more than 600 global Participating Organizations (POs) worldwide. Continual global involvement not only benefits stakeholder organizations but also the larger payment security community, by ensuring the diverse and unique industry and geographic perspectives of those across the payment chain are represented in the work of the Council. European participation – including merchants, financial institutions and processors from around the continent – has been a key factor in the Council’s analysis and guidance on technologies in the payment environment, such as call center recording technologies and EMV, as well as the development of critical resources like the Prioritized Approach framework.

This year, Participating Organizations also elected a new Board of Advisors, with 7 of the 21 seats being represented by European companies, a testimony to the growing European involvement in the Council and the work and collaboration that is taking place in Europe to drive payment security forward.

”As a member of the Council since 2007, we are pleased to see the growing awareness around payment security in the UK and European regions over the last few years,” said PCI SSC Board of Advisors member Philip Morton, information security compliance manager, British Airways. “We are excited to bring our geographic and industry perspectives to the Council in serving on the Board this term and working with the PCI community to continue to drive increased protection of cardholder data in Europe and globally.”

Twenty-five percent of the growth among European POs has occurred in the last year, since the Council brought on European Director Jeremy King to concentrate PCI efforts in the region. This number has more than tripled since the first year of the Council’s existence.

“Counter to those who suggested that the issue of PCI Standards and global card security were U.S.-centric initiatives, our ongoing growth in participation in Europe illustrates the increase in awareness, focus and feedback we are achieving globally,” said Jeremy King, European director, PCI Security Standards Council. “I am very excited about the growing number of European-based organizations who will join us at this year’s European Community Meeting. As we kick off our feedback period for the PCI Standards, I look forward to engaging this core group of stakeholders in our global standards lifecycle process. Together, these organizations will help influence the Council’s agenda and the direction and evolution of the PCI Standards in the coming years.”

At both the European Community Meeting in London, and North American Community Meeting, the 3-day programs will include the latest in breaking forensics, security trends and technology from expert keynote speakers; SSC updates on the global state of PCI and technologies such as: point-to-point encryption, mobile payments, virtualization and tokenization; as well as dedicated sessions providing guidance to those aiding in PCI assessments, including Approved Scanning Vendors (ASV), Qualified Security Assessors (QSA),Internal Security Assessors (ISA) and PCI Forensic Investigators (PFI).

The full agendas for each meeting can be found at the Community Meeting website: https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/communitymeeting/2011/

About the PCI Security Standards Council
The PCI Security Standards Council is an open, global forum that is responsible for the development, management, education, and awareness of the PCI Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) and related standards that increase payment data security.

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