PCI Compliance is a Helpful Hassle

Glenn Moore

One of my favorite summertime activities is camping with my family.  Campfires, hiking, outdoor cooking and just unplugging from the daily grind.  We camp in a 30' RV which really blurs the line between camping and staying at a hotel.  The RV has air conditioning, shower/bathroom, and a full kitchen.  It's far from roughing it!

 

Operating an RV is actually pretty easy but there are some mandatory requirements.  Last weekend I finished my annual ritual of preparing the RV for winter storage.  It's a bit of a hassle.  You need to drain the fresh water system and then add 5 gallons of RV anti-freeze.  The solution needs to flow completely through all the PVC plumbing in the unit.  That prevents the pipes from bursting when the temperature goes below freezing.  This anti-freeze procedure is pretty intuitive.  However, I learned the hard way that you also need to bypass the hot water heater as part of winterizing.  Why?  Because the the anti-freeze solution doesn't enter the hot water tank when it's full.  Several years ago, I didn't drain and bypass the hot water tank and had to pay more than $400 to replace the tank when it cracked due to frozen water expansion.   It was a painful lesson to learn.  Before this incident, I thought I knew enough to save a few bucks and do the winterizing myself.   The RV didn't come with directions on winterizing, but there's plenty of documentation on the internet.  I should have researched further.

 

Now for the seque.  Winterizing an RV is a bit like a retailer taking steps to prevent cyber crime.  In both cases there are specific actions which should be taken to prevent more severe problems from occuring.  In recent weeks,  ANX has been speaking to retail merchants about PCI compliance.  It's somewhat surprising that many of the smaller merchants aren't aware of PCI compliance.  With all the front page news about cyber crime and retailers losing billions each year, you'd think that any business accepting credit cards would take the steps necessary to safeguard their business from cyber theft.   Achieving PCI compliance is a hassle, but doing so significantly decreases the risk of cyber breach.  PCI compliance is like a detailed instruction manual for risk mitigation.  When you fully meet all 12 requirements, your business is far less vulnerable to cyber attacks.  Aside from the fact that PCI compliance is a requirement of the bank that processes your credit card transactions, it just flat out makes sense.   I've included a video that explains PCI compliance and the risks it aims to mitigate.  It's a must watch for any business owner that thinks PCI compliance is just another burdensome set of rules.

 

I wish someone had forced me to be be knowledgeable about winterizing my RV!