New Credit Card Security Standard Published

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Carnegie Mellon University have partnered with 23 other organizations in order to make credit card transactions safer for consumers. Most recently, the group has developed and published a new credit card security standard, the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Version 2.

The CVSS Version 2 is designed to try to protect consumers better than they currently are protected. Currently, there are many vulnerable areas or entryways that a hacker can utilize in order to capture personal account information. This is because your personal information is entered into a computer every time you use your credit card.  That information is then sent to a server, usually run by either a store merchant or bank. Here, the data is processed and is transmitted to the vendor, who then authorizes the purchase. Since the information has to cross through so many channels, there are plenty of opportunities for it to be intercepted.

If a hacker can find a vulnerability in any part of this system, he can potentially gain access to the the server where the data is housed, providing the opportunity for the hacker to steal sensitive financial information.

With CVSS Version 2, each of the potential risks is rated on a scale from zero to ten. The scale is meant to assess how confidentiality, availability, and integrity are each potentially compromised by the system. In order to assess their vulnerabilities, vendors use special software that scans the entire system. The PCI Security Standards Council maintains the compliance program, which is referred to as the Approved Scanning Vendor (ASV).

As of June 2008, the ASV scanners are all required to utilize CVSS Version 2 when scanning for vulnerabilities.

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