E-commerce Insights: How to Secure Your Web Site Against Hackers

Leonard reminds site owners that good security practices aren’t optional — they are mandated by an alphabet soup of regulations and standards, including the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act.

In June 2005, Visa mandated strict security guidelines for retailers that accept credit card payments online. Yet this past January, Visa reported that only 32 of the 215 largest retailers were in compliance with these PCI standards — a dismal 15 percent success rate.