A Closer Look at PCI DSS Compliance –Part II

In the first part of this article, we looked at the 6 control objectives and the 12 requirements of the PCI DSS guidelines. In the second part, we will delve upon the different PCI compliance levels, the validation requirements and the risks of not maintaining PCI compliance.


Today, all credit card brands use the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) and hence all the merchants, irrespective of whether big or small, are required to follow the security measures and the auditing procedures specified in PCI DSS. Though the security measures are same for all types of merchants, the auditing procedures vary depending on the number and type of transactions the merchant processes in a year. Hence, there are different PCI compliance levels or merchant categories.


PCI Compliance Levels

There are four levels or categories of PCI compliance namely:


Level 1

Merchants who process more than 6 million credit card transactions per year belong to this category. It includes those merchants as well identified by any card company as Level 1. Even those merchants who have suffered an attack leading to account data compromise belong to this category.


Level 2

Level 2 comprises of those merchants who process 1 million to 6 million credit card transactions per year.


Level 3

It includes those merchants who process anywhere between 20,000 and 1 million eCommerce transactions each year.


Level 4

Those merchants who process less than 20,000 eCommerce transactions and up to 1 million credit card transactions per year belong to this category.


PCI Validation Requirements

The validation requirements vary depending upon the level to which the merchants belong. As per the validation requirements, an independent security assessor must perform annual on-site security audit while a qualified independent scan vendor must do quarterly network security scans. In the case of audits, internal audit will do if and only if signed by an officer of the company.

  • Level 1 merchant must undergo annual on-site security audit and perform quarterly network security scans.

  • Level 2 and Level 3 merchants must complete an annual PCI Self-Assessment questionnaire and perform quarterly network security scans.

  • Level 4 merchants must complete an annual PCI Self-Assessment questionnaire. In addition,they are recommended to perform quarterly network security scans.


PCI Non-Compliance

Since credit card fraud is a multi-billion dollar industry, non-compliance with PCI guidelines are strictly dealt with. Penalties include fines and account termination. The card associations punish the non-compliant merchant directly or indirectly. The card associations fine the acquirer under which the merchant processes transactions, who then passes the fine on to the merchant. Moreover, those merchants whose accounts have been terminated would find it difficult to get a new account, as their names would be put on MATCH, a blacklist in the credit card processing industry.


As we come to the end of the second and final part of this article, we understand that achieving PCI compliance is not as easy as it sounds,since PCI DSS comprises of 200-plus sub policies, procedures and technical nuances. Hence, what is needed is an effective PCI compliance and vulnerability management solution that helps small, medium and large businesses to be PCI DSS compliant.


Also read on - compliance management solution, IT governance, risk and compliance

A Competent Show with an Appealing Team Collaboration

A positive energy in a working environment gives the business a great boost.  Even if the project is handled by distributed teams, a high level of coordination and collaboration will bear rewards. It is also   advantageous when you are aware of the capabilities of each team member. This helps you to distribute responsibilities to the most proficient individual and expect the best outcome.   You need to strengthen your workforce with powerful capabilities to mould your business into a revenue earning entity.

Taking a cue from the social networking medium you can popularize the business social networking platform within your organization. Social networking helps in bringing your teams closer and working in unison towards successful achievements. It is also very important  for all the teams that are working on a particular project to be on the same page at all times to avoid any confusions and misinterpretations that leads to wastage of time and resources. Every project demands investment and if effective strategies are not deployed it would lead to revenue loss and extra costs.

The enterprise microblogging software is a superb tool that provides you with unlimited benefits. It facilitates your teams to organize events, start microblogs, share ideas and discussions on the projects that they are involved with. The forums are accessible to all the team members in real-time and anybody can post their comments or suggestions. Resolutions can be reached quickly with the joint participation of the team members. New recruits can easily assess the status of the project by viewing the discussions on the forums eliminating the need to spend time and money on their training.

This software also provides the facility of attaching documents, pictures, audio and video files. It displays powerful search engine capabilities for quick access to microblogs. The software provides a seamless knowledge management process by helping teams to build libraries for storing information. All the information is captured effectively with the team members  having easy accessibility. This leads to  having greater control on the resource and helps you identify what information has been downloaded and by whom.

Communication through time-consuming email threads is passé. The group collaboration software provides your team members with the latest posts on their Smartphone also. With  stringent measures you can ensure that only authorized users are allowed access. Apart from providing email customization and integration facilities software helps you to remain in touch with the people concerned without logging onto the platform. Your replies to the email are posted via your Android or Blackberry Smartphone. With personal profiles of employees updated, it becomes easier for HR  to assess their talents and capabilities and  choose the most eligible candidates for the job.

The enterprise microblogging software is the key to restrained costs and leveraged efficiencies. Increase business productivity with one-to-one conversation, instant collaboration across organization and stay productive anywhere with enterprise microblogging software.

Business Collaboration with Social Media Network

The definition of business has completely changed today. It is no longer an enterprise run by a handful of decision makers. Today the environment has become more dynamic with increased global competition. Every business has to ensure that decisions are based on concrete analytics and not on baseless and hypothetical assumptions. In today’s business environment each employee is perceived as being a key contributor to the creation of value of a Company.     Hence it would not be wrong to say that collaboration and integration are the main controls that drive a business.

For any business to be successful in today’s global workplace, even if you have distributed teams, it is highly essential to ensure that these teams work on a common platform, communicate and share information with each other and each one is aware of the progress status. This also helps employees discuss and solve problems, come up with better strategies, and learn new and important skills. The business social networking concept has helped many to channelize their operations and make the teams work collectively towards a common goal. Social networking in the workplace empowers employees to engage across verticals and outside of the department-specific information silos. This gives employees better access to information and resources so that they can work smarter and make better decisions.  

The social business software is a tool with powerful online team collaboration capabilities that helps the teams to build their libraries and provide easy access to the documents. It facilitates the teams to start forums and create events for discussing the projects that they are handling. Anyone can post comments on these forums and view all the discussions, feedbacks and suggestions relevant to the projects and find solutions quickly. New employees don’t need training as they get complete insight into the project; hence   reducing the cost of training. The software provides the facility of working across diverse platforms with the browser-based mobile applications. Anyone can view and access profiles and groups, download files, create and join events, share links, receive updates via emails or SMS on any mobile phone or computer tablets.

Through group collaboration software, groups can be organized around customers so that through group collaboration, different product teams share information and have one view of the customer. Social networking also helps HR   get 360 degree view of individual team members their skills, their connections, their aspirations, their leadership qualities based on which they can select the most eligible candidates.

It’s time to take the lead on your enterprise social networking initiatives. With the right strategy, guidance, and implementation your company will benefit and so will you. Thousands of users across big and small companies are using it to unleash a wide spectrum of powerful business benefits that include shorter sales cycles, higher sales closure rates, faster innovation, deeper employee engagement and loyalty, improved business productivity, enhanced knowledge management and faster response times.

Role Played By Clinical Laboratories

There has been constant and rapid innovation going on in the clinical laboratory environment since 1980’s. Over the years there has been significant growth in the complexity and range of accessible services and tests and the same is expected to continue in the days to come. Clinical laboratory technology is often met by medical advances. There are cases, where testing methods to screen or diagnose for a specific condition are available prior to the treatment. Innovation in clinical laboratory involves advances and tests in devices and testing procedures and it has made testing better automated.

CRO’s and Clinical Laboratories

A clinical laboratory plays a crucial role in clinical research and important medical studies and phase I study based on new treatment and drug development. Today eminent clinical research organizations (CRO) in India supports research activities in these laboratories certified by NABL and CAP. There are variations in the kind of technology deployed by various types of clinical laboratories. For instance, CRO’s with small laboratories does not have the volume of testing for supporting elaborate or automated IT systems.

A clinical laboratory under leading CRO’s takes part in numerous external proficiency testing assignments with international and national labs to retain efficient standards of quality control. Such a laboratory is well equipped with state-of-the-art infrastructure, a wide selection of advanced devices and accurate logistics. Other than this, one more essential ingredient in a laboratory is well trained and highly skilled professionals. They are in turn assisted by leading edge technology comprising advanced Laboratory Management System for transferring data online and ensuring lesser turnaround time with high standards in quality and consistency.

Apart from offering these services for clinical trials, leading clinical laboratories are completely geared up to conduct a vast array of investigations that comprise the following:-

 

* Hematology

* Urine Analysis

* Coagulation Studies

* Biochemistry

* Clinical Pathology

* Endocrinology

* Serology

* Inflammatory/Immune markers

* Infectious Disease Markers

* Therapeutic Drug Monitoring

* Tumor Markers

* Lipid Profile

* Liver Function Test

* Anemia Profile

* Renal Profile

* Diabetic Profile

* Biomarkers

* Capabilities for other tests

Today information technology has completely revolutionize the information by minimizing the time it takes to receive and order test results by setting up scopes for research on large datasets. As a result, many medical researchers are of opinion that laboratory technology will play a vital role in the delivery of health care solutions in future.

Read Also On: Biometrics

Tax Planning Services for a Corporate Clean Chit

The global business houses with its widespread footprints have a complex regulatory environment. Being spread across geographical locations this requires the enterprises to be in compliance with the local regulatory policies. To ensure such compliance, corporate houses with global presence depend on their tax planners and financial experts to chalk out their tax planning strategies.

 

Stringent adherence to corporate compliance is required to ensure that the employees are aware of the regulations prevalent in a particular state or nation and take adequate steps to adhere to those laws and regulations without evading taxes. Effective tax planning is thus vital for every business and the tax planners and professional financial consultants help organizations with their corporate tax preparations and plan their finances towards a profit oriented growth.

 

However, irrespective of the size of the organization, the tax laws remain the same. Nevertheless, the larger corporate sectors have the facilities to make use of professional tax planning services which help them plan their finances and taxes by using the legal technicalities and interpretations. The small and medium business houses on the other hand follow the tax regulations. Strategic tax planning is beneficial for the organization in a way of manageable tax bills.  Hence even the small and medium enterprises today tend to make use of professional tax planning services and consultants to help them with advanced tax planning services.

 

With a number of Indian organizations on the global map and many multinationals having set up offices in India, leading tax planning consultants and financial consultants today provide India income tax return services to these global enterprises and their workforce.  The services offered  to resident Indian, non-resident Indians,  Expats and Inputs, include professional preparation of tax returns, development of strategies for advanced tax  planning,  timely filing of tax returns both  electronically and physically, tax representation and discounts in case of corporate tax preparation.

 

Advanced tax planning however helps enterprise to safely ride through without breaking rules and regulatory compliances. Clear understanding of the client situation helps the tax planning service consultants plan ahead for the next financial year. The enterprises and individuals on the other hand can plan ahead for the taxes by adjusting the withholdings, safety of tax returns and supporting documents, organized record-keeping, itemizing deductions, tracking changes in tax laws and assigning an early tax consultant.  Financial Planning Services help to combat the day to-day changing taxation laws, and facilitate reduction in tax liabilities through effective planning and tax saving strategies.

 

Read Also On : US India Tax

 

India Developing As a Medical Writing Hub

India has a pool of experienced, talented and qualified medical scientists and medical writers. Each year the country produces close to three million graduates, 700,000 post graduates and 1500 PhD’s in this field. This also comprise about 18,000 medical graduates passing out from 200 medical schools. There are clinical professionals and technicians, who have a thorough knowledge of healthy and scientific clinical practices and dug development. At the same time they have good writing skills. Most of them also has industry experience and as a result know the methods to put together reports and evaluate safety data.

 

At the same time, English being the primary language of these professionals, they are able to interact and produce standard to excellent quality of scientific documents similar to the British and American counterparts. According to few estimates, an interesting fact is that about 15 percent of the scientific population of biotech and pharmaceutical organizations in US is of the Indian origin.

 

At the same time, owing to its competitiveness and cost benefits, India is considered as a leading hub for Medical Writing and Clinical Research Organization (CRO) services that are required for the development of the biopharmaceutical division. Indian professionals have already made their mark in Medical Tourism and Information Technology and now the world is waiting for Indian CRO’s and medical professionals to take over Medical Writing and clinical research.


Leading CRO’s in India offers well trained medical writing teams that has the expertise is compiling abstracts, manuscripts and publications. Medical writing services comprise investigation brochures, informed consent document, Protocol, scientific papers, case report forms, study reports for publications and Med Xview for e filing. They also specialize in dedicated report compilation and dispatch them. Other medical writing services include the following:-


*Bioanalytical reporting

* Method Validation Reports

* Bio analytical Reports

* ISR Reports

* Submission-ready Documentation (Hyperlinked eCTD formatting)

* Dispatch & Archival

* Clinical Reporting

* Clinical Study Reports

* Integrated Safety & Efficacy Reports

* Pharmacovigilance & Safety Reports

* Presentations, Posters & Manuscripts

Eminent pharmaceutical organizations that have a global presence have been outsourcing medical writing to India for a while now. In a recent market analysis it has been estimated that the global medical writing market size is approximately $700-800 million. Furthermore, the service providers based out of India are competing with providers from Ireland, China, Philippines and others that are slated to attain a huge market share in this section.

Read Also On: Phase 1 Studies, Regulatory Services

Best Employee Benefits Consultant Services

What is the crucial element in an organization that influences the attrition rate or helps to retain the best workforce? The answer is proper HR laws that translate to effective employee benefit plans and schemes. It is a known fact that every employee works for some kind of benefit from their company. These benefits can either be in cash or kind, but the aim is to facilitate the employee in some way or the other, so that he is encouraged to carry on with his work with a company.

 

Why should you have employee benefit plans?

 

There are numerous why a company must formulate appropriate employee benefit schemes. Apart from motivating the employee to perform better, there are other reasons as well. They are:-

 

·         Tax Credits

If you are providing healthcare plans that includes dental or company-paid premium life insurance plans, these expenses come of help during tax time. Furthermore, for employees majority of healthcare plans and pre-tax programs is synonymous to deducting the employee’s share of the premium. At the same time, state and federal taxes are subtracted depending on the subtotal.

 

·         Employee Packages

When you are recruiting employees, they might not be enthusiastic initially or satisfied about their salary. By arranging employee benefits you can throw the expense the organization will be bearing into the overall employee compensation package to show them that the company is investing on their behalf.

 

·         Retirement Credits

Based on your retirement plan, you can reap tax credit rewards and so can your employees. You can get in touch with a tax professional and enquire about the best retirement schemes.

 

·         Reduced Turnover Rate

If you ask majority of the employees as to what is their desirable employee benefit, chances are there that most of them would talk about medical benefits. If you acknowledge the relevance of employee benefits you will witness less employee turnover and you can retain them too.

 

Eminent companies dealing in global HR solutions have realized these aspects and have come with efficient employee benefit schemes. These companies blend advanced technology with their dedicated service team. Hence, they are capable of assisting the delivery of your benefits working in a cost-efficient and highly manageable manner. Some of core employee benefit plans offered are:-

 

·         Benefits Consulting and Procurement

·         Healthcare Cost Management

·         Eligibility Management

·         Legislative Compliance

·         Executive Benefit Consulting

·         Online Employee Center

·         Employee Service Desk

 

As your employee benefits consultants these companies have brought in certain methodologies that can be best described as “strategic simplicity." They form a one point contact for all the benefits management needs and efficient transactions. They offer information that is easily available helping your company to formulate the best employee benefit plans.

 

Read Also On: ERISA Compliance

 

 

A New Technology that Facilitates Hearing Loss Prevention

In many work domains noise is something that is inevitable. Take for instance, the metals and mining industry where the workers are exposed to high decibels of sound.  With noise induced hearing loss being an occupational hazard as proved by the increase in the number of hearing loss cases reported and with regulatory bodies such as Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) coming up with stringent regulations and penalties, almost all employers have started taking measures for hearing protection at workplaces.  However, is hearing protection the only issue bothering workers as well as employers in the workplaces? Read along to find the answers.

 

The most practical way of achieving effective hearing loss prevention is through safety earmuffs and earplugs. Earmuffs and earplugs differ in the way they are worn. While earmuffs cover the entire ear, earplugs are worn inside. Today’ crop of hearing protection devices come mostly armed with Active Noise Control technology. Active Noise Control (ANC) technology also known as Active Noise Reduction (ANR) technology successfully suppresses unwanted noise. Though this noise cancellation technology helps to solve the greatest problem of those working in high noise environments, it is quite ineffective when it comes to other major issues faced by the workers in high noise environments namely effective high noise communication and situational awareness.

 

In high noise environments due to the high background noise, it is definitely difficult to carry out effective communication. With Active Noise Control technology, workers are able to ensure hearing protection from the harmful background noise. However, when it comes to communication, workers need to move to quieter areas, take their hearing protection off and on or speak loudly to communicate with others. Studies show that the inability to communicate seamlessly and accurately in high noise environments affects productivity. Workers lose over 30 minutes a day from trying to communicate in high noise environments.

 

Another important issue is that of situational awareness. In any work domain, being aware of one’ surroundings is highly important to avoid accidents and mishaps. Though Active Noise Control technology cancels noise and helps protect ears, it simultaneously reduces the users’ ability to hear speech and to remain aware of their surroundings.

 

What is required is a solution that brings low noise hearing experiences into high noise environments by enabling users to communicate effectively, remain aware of their surroundings while protecting their hearing. This is what the new SENS technology promises to deliver. So start adopting this technology to keep accidents as well as hearing loss at bay.

Know more on:

·         Electronic ear muffs

·         Noise cancelling ear plugs

 

Increase Efficiency with Successful Human Capital Management Solutions

In today's highly competitive world, it is the 'human capital', or the people working for an organization, who make the difference. The employees of a company are the biggest asset and a company has the best chance of success by keeping that asset strong. As a fundamental part of each and every company, human capital management is the nucleus that makes certain that both the top management and the workers co-exist in an environment that results in success. Efficient human capital management is the key that makes a company with a winning team of employees, going towards a shared goal. Leading firms have embraced the need to better manage their human capital and build a more excellent workforce to drive bottom-line organizational results.

Ideally Human capital management differs from traditional HR practices as it is concerned less with administrative tasks and procedures and focuses more on getting the most out of staff for a happy and productive team. These days organizations need efficient global HR solutions to help them manage their human resource and talents and to adapt to the changing demands and technology while supporting organizational strategies and objectives

In today's world, it is no doubt essential to cut costs on overhead expenses and the best way to do so is to outsource your human capital management needs such as employee assessments and employee evaluation. They do not only serve one but all goals you specify and as an added value they ensure continuity in meeting target performance goals ensuring that you get the return of investment that you deserve. Partnering with a can bring a tremendous success as most of these enterprises have a vast range of services to suit the global employee. From employee benefit planning, employee on-boarding, global payroll services, risk assessment in the local market, wealth management, as well as retirement planning. This system helps to manage the organization to keep with the changing times, leverage the global human resource and talent into a single fold while accounting for the workforce across the world.

There are plenty of solution providers that provide customized high-tech and high-touch benefit solutions, and also implement comprehensive employee benefits. They also provide effective strategies that can help combat the rising costs of health care. With the right service provider your business can get the necessary guidance needed in making informed benefit decisions that meet budget goals and satisfy employee needs. While they can not only reduce your administrative burden, they can also help increase the overall efficiency of your business.

 

Read Also On: HIPAA Security Compliance, Employee Benefits Consultants, Human Capital Management Solutions

Intellect 2.0: Reaping the benefit of Social Intellect

Talk about creation and you will often come across the adage “In the beginning was the word”. According to few scholars even before word prevailed “thought” came into existence. “Words” are vehicle of expressing “thoughts”. Our presence and function too are governed by these two terms i.e. “thought” and “word”. Therefore, a thought when worded well and aptly, can lead to brilliant ideas for growth and development. Recent studies have indicated that the human mind can come up with innovative concepts and ideas from the slightest trail of a regular conversation. This means even an average employee in your organization, can be the dark horse and can set an innovation in motion. The accumulation of such ideas at large is known as “social intellect” and eminent brands today are capitalizing on it majorly.

 

Most companies have realized that the key to their organization’s productivity, longevity and success depends on “Ideas” that come from their employees. Ideas act as a distinguishing factor. Exploring this potential creativity within an enterprise, especially the creativity of managers and employees is an obvious, but an under-used strategy for many organizations, business houses and starts up ventures. Ideas from employees form valuable resources that are leveraged by companies to make incremental enhancements and strategic innovations.

 

Need For Idea Management

 

When it comes to ideas, you might as well question the need to streamline and manage it within your company? This  customary approach propels us to think, that an idea is best managed with a pen and paper or best when documented. However, times have changed and so has the approach to ideas and social intellect. Leading market players have come up with innovative idea management programs that help you to reap benefits such as:-

 

  • Set up a collective intelligence around a thread of imagination.
  • People in your organization are able to voice their concerns, share their opinions, views and make interesting conversations and recommendations.
  • You are able to encourage on-going and real-time dialogue that is conversational in nature, free flowing and represents multiple view-points.

 

Reaping the benefits of Idea Management Solutions

 

Keeping in mind today’s dynamic work environment with creative professionals and out-of-the box thinker’s; eminent service providers have come up with idea management systems. This works in close coordination with your organization to streamline and organize the potential ideas of employees focusing on future progress and increased good will. Some of the benefits of the solution:

 

  • Encourages new competitive products and services
  • Drive process improvements
  • Improved collaboration and decision making across teams
  • Give a competitive advantage to the company
  • Identifies hidden talent within the organization and potential growth areas
  • Improves brand value and employee loyalty

 

Hence, innovative idea management solutions offered by leading market players helps capture ideas, drives involvement of the employees and creates high level of engagement in the workforce. Along with this, other personalized features allow you to screen the most effective and viable ideas easily and quickly. There are also techniques through which you can flag the best ideas for any future reference. Thus idea management helps capture hundreds of ideas to improve productivity and drive improvements from the bottom up in a short time period.

 

The value and wealth of enterprises depends on their social intellectual capital. Recruiting expert professional sure does add value to an organization, but reaping the benefits of social intellect involves translating employee wisdom into sustained action. An organization engaged in such a process has a culture that fosters sharing, encourages learning and involves employees in decision making.. There is no better way to empower, motivate and engage employees than to ask for their ideas and execute them demonstrating a collective progress.