Quite a few I'm sure would say, yes. But, how well do you protect their data?
I read a recent Inc. mag article leading me to an old article from this January about the Life Is Good company.
If you have not read the article, Life Is Good got into a heap of trouble with the FTC for not "protect(ing) consumer information and that its security failures allowed hackers to steal credit card information." Part of the settlement terms is that Life Is Good must have their security measures audited every 2 years for the next 20 years.
No one with an Internet-based business would want to find themselves in this situation. I shared it to enlighten those with Internet-based business taking payments, which will soon be me as well.
That's why I use a 3rd party payment gateway that way i never have the data it is all handled on their ssl secured server. I use Pay Junction to handle all that that way I don't have to worry about being responsible for other peoples data.
__________________ Daniel Slatkin TroopFuel we support our troops.
That's why I use a 3rd party payment gateway that way i never have the data it is all handled on their ssl secured server. I use Pay Junction to handle all that that way I don't have to worry about being responsible for other peoples data.
Yeah I use PayPal's Website Business gateway so I never have to even see my customer's data.
No one with an Internet-based business would want to find themselves in this situation. I shared it to enlighten those with Internet-based business taking payments, which will soon be me as well.
I think all businesses that accept credit cards (either online or even offline through a terminal) are required by the Payment Card Industry (visa/mastercard/etc) to be "PCI Compliant".
The PCI compliance inlcudes security measures that the merchant needs to take for their website/server and requires that each merchant has in house policies on how they protect and secure customer's private data.
I'd highly recommend everyone here take a look at the PCI compliance standards, because the fines can be quite high:
hmm how about personal data (eg name, address, phone no, etc), esp when the customer wants to register with a particular website, does it need to be secure as well?
I belong to one of of those "Large" Shirt selling companies and I have often wondered how well they protect my customers information but I have yet to hear a complaint and I KNOW they sell alot of shirts (not just my own)
hmm how about personal data (eg name, address, phone no, etc), esp when the customer wants to register with a particular website, does it need to be secure as well?
It's probably a good idea to keep that information secure as well. It's still considered private/sensitive information that your customer is trusting you with.
Do You Protect Your Customer's Data? 
Daniel Slatkin 
