National Retail Federation Foundation To Provide Retailers With Access To PCI DSS On-Demand eLearning For Payment Card Security And Compliance

New York, New York, (July 20, 2010) --VigiTrust today announced it will partner with the NRF Foundation, the research and education arm of the National Retail Federation, to provide retailers with PCI DSS eLearning classes. The classes will be offered through the Foundation's Universitywired program.

Businesses using credit card and debit cards - collectively referred to as payment cards - are required to be compliant with industry and regulatory programs to ensure security is being managed and consumers and business are protected.  The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) is a set of technical, procedural and training requirements, which all merchants who either transmit process or store credit cardholder data must adhere to.

Requirement 12.6 of PCI DSS states that all merchants must train in-scope personnel at the time of hire and annually. In-scope personnel include employees who handle or have access to credit card or credit card data, whether physically by handling credit cards or logically on computer systems. In addition, businesses must be able to demonstrate that their personnel have read and understood security policies put in place to protect cardholder data.

NRF Foundation's Universitywired, the industry's only dedicated eLearning platform, will provide the engine to deliver PCI DSS education to retail and related companies worldwide through its University wired program.

"VigiTrust's PCI courses will help fill a real void within the industry," said Kathy Mance, Executive Director NRF Foundation. "We are pleased to be able to recommend two eLearning titles from VigiTrust to enable our members to achieve and maintain compliance with PCI DSS, one aimed at staff and one aimed at PCI DSS teams".

VigiTrust's PCI e-Learning suite is now available to members via the NRF University wired website, www.NRFuniversitywired.com.

"PCI DSS requires any organization handling credit cards or credit card data to implement a formal security education program and to train all in-scope staff on an annual basis," said Breandán Murray, VigiTrust's VP of sales for North America. "That includes all NRF members as well, hence the fit for this proactive education program through the NRF Foundation."

Murray went on to say "the only effective way to reach such a large audience on a regular basis with training is with e-Learning' and VigiTrust has a unique offering, where we offer different courses for different audiences, e.g. check staff, IT or management"

VigiTrust has developed a suite of online learning and certification programs that help businesses to be compliant in a practical, efficient and timely manner. In doing so, VigiTrust helps ensure businesses treat consumer credit and debit card data in the most secure, compliant, organized and efficient way possible.  Having established itself as a trusted provider to corporate, small to mid-sized businesses (SMBs), financial institutions and government institutions in the European market, VigiTrust has established a North America sales and support center in New York and is working with businesses here, developing a series of market-specific compliance programs to address the unique commercial, regulatory and geopolitical requirements of the North America market.

"Security education is key for retailers," says VigiTrust Chief Executive Officer, Mathieu Gorge.  "Our compliance and security solutions provide retailers with simple, cost-effective ways to verifiably train in-scope staff. Retailers will greatly benefit from this partnership."