Internet Security Systems Teams with Visa

Internet Security Systems (ISS) announced this week an alliance with credit card giant Visa U.S.A. to launch a pilot e-commerce security initiative.

The alliance allows ISS to test Visa's new Electronic Compliance Monitoring (ECM) program, part of the overall Visa Secure Commerce program. The ECM program will help verify that e-merchants and ISP's meet Visa's online security requirements to protect cardholder data from cyber-criminals. The new Visa Secure Commerce program features a series of security measures that protect online transactions.

When ECM testing begins this month, ISS's Managed Security Services will provide routine vulnerability monitoring through mock hacking attempts on e-merchants' networks and databases. The security solution provider will also initially test the merchants' internal and external security measures.

"Our partnership with Visa is a significant leap forward in delivering a powerful and easy mechanism to e-merchants for facilitating continuous security improvement and ensuring the protection of millions of cardholders worldwide," said Tom Noonan, president and CEO of ISS, in a press statement.

The Managed Security Services arm was launched in full force last month. Other recent additions to ISS's Managed Security Services arm includes Lucent and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Chris Klaus, co-founder and CTO of ISS, says the division offers unique services such remote, 24/7 monitoring of networks by ISS professionals and an emergency response team that acts as a cyber-SWAT team by going on site to the business or organization that's being attacked.

"It's one thing to see an attack and tell the customer, but if that's all you can do, your customer is going to be left standing there asking, 'What do I do now?'" Klaus says. "There's been a lot of companies that say their managed security services-capable, but in reality, we believe they're lacking some of the core components we offer."

ISS's Managed Security Services business is expected to grow as a result of the alliance with Visa, which holds more than 60 percent of the total payment card volume worldwide and more than half of the online market share. Visa e-merchants will have access to ISS's Managed Security Services division as well as its SAFEsuite security management software to help them meet the requirements of Visa's ECM program.

Visa will begin next year requiring all merchants accepting Visa brand credit cards to have the company's security protocol in place, which includes installing high-tech firewalls and using encrypting stored data.