Security Validation LLC, a data security consulting organisation, has announced the release of PrivacyAtlas, an online security reporting service giving consumers visibility into the security posture of over forty-thousand hotels, resorts and merchants.
Merchants who process, store or transmit credit card data are required to comply with the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standards, yet very few actually comply. PrivacyAtlas, the first global registry of its kind will add national retailers, restaurants, convenience stores, and other high profile merchants to their database by year's end.
"Consumers want to know how safe their credit card data is when it's shared with hotels, retail stores, restaurants, or online. They may be surprised to know that guidelines for data security do exist. These are the PCI Data Security Standards designed to help merchants protect consumer data," said David Durko, President & CEO of Security Validation. "But few merchants are in compliance leaving many consumers vulnerable and at risk for fraud and theft. PrivacyAtlas simply provides consumers with a level of transparency into the merchant's security practices they've not had before. Consumers can now decide whether to frequent a hotel or merchant based on the properties ability or willingness to protect their data. "
PrivacyAtlas will help protect consumers by identifying hotels, resorts or merchants that may not have adequate security controls in place. Besides helping business and leisure travellers make informed choices, PrivacyAtlas also makes it easy for the consumer to directly book their stay at a compliant property by offering a link to the properties booking engine directly from the PrivacyAtlas results page.
Given the enormity of recent security events and the frequency of credit card theft, PrivacyAtlasTM is a direct response to these incidents allowing consumers to know much more about the establishments they give their credit cards and personal information to.
As the former Director of Security Compliance for a global hotel chain it made perfect sense to focus on the hospitality industry, Durko said. "We recognize that hotels and resorts are entrusted with consumers' credit cards and personally identifiable information every day and yet the consumer knows very little about how the property is handling this data "
To check a hotel's compliance status on PrivacyAtlas, consumers enter a hotel's name and location and are served up the results. Consumers can also search by state or zip code to browse ratings of properties without having a specific brand in mind. Results are returned within seconds.
The PrivacyAtlas platform is rapidly expanding to add the PCI compliance status of hotels and merchants worldwide. Security Validation LLC expects to amass ratings of most independently owned and operated, corporate-owned and managed hotels by the second quarter of this year.
"Until now consumers couldn't evaluate the security posture of hotels which is crucial considering hotels are a home away from home while on vacation, or while visiting family, or when traveling for business. PrivacyAtlas lets their compliancy status to become more relevant in consumers' buying decision," he adds.
He notes that for the average consumer the hospitality industry represents perhaps the greatest threat to data security, and that hotels have proven to be hotbeds of credit card fraud and mishandled information.
"With more transparency into the hospitality sector, consumers will have greater insight and ability to decipher which hotels are protecting their personally identifiable information," Durko added.
