When it comes to PCI compliance and protecting data, some retailers are not just stopping with credit-card data. Not that businesses plan to protect credit-card data with less effort than before. Quite the opposite, in fact. But in addition to credit card numbers, businesses are also implementing strategies to protect data they once considered less important -- like Social Security numbers, birth dates and intellectual property.

Experts say that when PCI standards were established by the major credit card companies several years ago, businesses starting treating credit card data differently than other kinds of data. This was surprisingly problematic, because it created a liability when other kinds of sensitive and personal information were left exposed.

"The only problem was that all other data would include Social Security numbers," said David Taylor, director of research for the PCI Alliance. "They were implementing a higher level of security for credit card numbers."