What can you do to stop hackers?

Retail giants such as Target, Michaels and Neiman Marcus all recently suffered security breaches, continuing a costly trend for retailers that impact their reputation with customers.

Cybercriminals exploited different security weaknesses in these attacks, but the fallout for these retailers will likely be similar:

• Reduced sales revenues
• Diminished margins and profits
• Decreased customer trust
• Damaged brand
• Substantial legal costs
• Hefty punitive fines

As a merchant that is smaller than those mentioned above, you might believe cybercriminals will ignore your business because of its size. Unfortunately, hackers frequently target small- to mid-sized businesses because they often lack the resources necessary to identify suspicious activity and effectively counteract threats.

And while a retail powerhouse has the ability to absorb the damages listed above, those losses can obliterate a small- to mid-sized practice such as yours.

How to Protect Your Practice
Let’s face it. You work tirelessly every day to support your practice. But there are sophisticated criminals working just as hard to destroy it. It’s their profession. They spend their waking hours endlessly trying to hack into computers and networks in pursuit of identity and card information that can be monetized. The truth is that no firewall or other security measure can totally keep criminals away. Heartland fully supports – and has implemented – every measure recommended by the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Council. Still, we go a step further and encrypt all card data that we process. We offer this protection to our customers through encrypted magnetic stripe readers, terminals and pin pads. Heartland’s security measure, E3, features end-to-end encryption. It’s significantly more secure than standard encryption methods that provide protection only at certain points of the transaction flow, resulting in unencrypted gaps that can expose valuable data to hackers. 

Keep in mind that thieves usually seek the path of least resistance. In this case, that means unencrypted information.  Our E3 data encryption uses algorithms or ciphers to change raw information into data that can’t be understood by unauthorized third parties. With E3 protection, data is encrypted at the moment your customer swipes a card or enters personal information at the magnetic stripe reader, terminal or PIN pad. It remains encrypted while in transit and throughout the authorization process. 

Think of E3 as a security guard that escorts your patient’s data throughout its entire journey. In the unlikely event that a breach occurs, Heartland will reimburse your practice for any breach-related fines and forensic fees. That’s how confident we are about our technology. Interested in learning more about how E3 can safeguard your business from thieves? Visit our E3 security page. Or call us anytime at (888) 963-3600. 

Note: Heartland Payment Systems provides exclusively to COA members secure, cost-effective credit card processing and payroll service solutions at a member-only discount. Contact Dana LeBlanc of Heartland today at 916-599-8689  or visit the COA page athttp://www.heartlandpaymentsystems.com/Associations/California-Optometric-Association/Home.

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