Phoenix Managed Networks has partnered with compliance security consultancy Sysnet Global Solutions to supply the company with a cloud-managed merchant firewall system.
Sysnet specialises in PCI standards compliance validation and, following the partnership, Phoenix’s cloud-managed firewall service will be made available to Sysnet’s client-base, which include acquirers, ISOs, banks, payment service providers and merchants in over 35 countries.
The Phoenix firewall system meets PCI standards, allowing the merchant to process cards transactions through a protected and separate route. At merchant locations Phoenix appliance locks down payment networks to PCI DSS criteria and provides a primary, secure, connection to the internet.
“Phoenix solves many of the complicated technical and networking issues of PCI compliance, especially for smaller merchants who may have little or no IT experience,” Phoenix’s UK managing director Alan Stephenson-Brown said. “Data breaches and payment security problems are on the rise at level 3 and 4 merchant locations, and they need to be tackled head on. Merchants need to realise that connecting payment systems to the internet brings a new level of security risk,” he said. A Verizon 2012 Data Breach Investigations Report found that 96% of the breach victims investigated were not PCI DSS compliant when they were last assessed. This deal looks to pre-empt this problem at a high level to make payments more secure on a global scale, the firms said.