PCI Council releases guidance on emerging technologies

The PCI Security Standards Council, tasked with managing the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), on Tuesday issued two new guidance documents assessing the impact of emerging data security technologies on payment card security. One paper focuses on point-to-point encryption (P2PE), also commonly known as end-to-end encryption, an emerging technology used to mask cardholder data from point-of-swipe through processing. Properly implemented, P2PE will allow merchants to reduce their scope in complying with the PCI DSS, according to the document. A separate guidance document is focused on EMV, a global standard for authenticating credit and debit card payments. EMV and PCI DSS should complement each other and not be seen as competing standards, according to the PCI Council. — AM