As hotels become increasingly popular targets for cybercriminals, protecting cardholder data is more critical now than ever for hoteliers. Check out my latest article from HotelExecutive.com on encryption, tokenization and other promising security solutions to read up on secure payment technologies that can help safeguard sensitive data.

One major recent development of particular interest to the hospitality industry and other businesses that use point-of-sale systems is the release of the E3™ magnetic stripe reader (MSR) wedge. The E3 wedge is the first MSR in the industry that encrypts sensitive cardholder data in a tamper-resistant security module (TRSM) and is designed to protect cardholder data at the point of swipe before the data reaches potentially vulnerable PC-based applications. See Steve’s blog entry from last week for more details on the security features and benefits of the E3 wedge.

We live in a world where cell phones — smart phones to be more precise — have become extensions ourselves. We are highly dependent on these devices for a variety of everyday functions … and this reliance is even more pronounced in the younger generation. One (mostly unintended) consequence of this is a fundamental change in the landscape of security in the payments world. Learn what this technological wave means for retailers in my article in the August issue of CSP Magazine.

August is one of the most popular vacation months, which means a surge in people hitting the roads … and the gas pumps. Swiping credit and debit cards at the pump to fill up is convenient for consumers, but this environment poses unique payment security challenges for petroleum and convenience store owners — largely due to the way PIN encryption for pump controllers was designed in the mid-1980s.

The industry is all abuzz about “end-to-end encryption” — but what does that really mean? A clear definition is required if we’re to fairly evaluate the various products claiming to employ this technology.