Wiesbaden, Germany, July 6, 2011 - comForte 21 GmbH, a leading global provider of security solutions for HP NonStop systems, today that it has joined the PCI Security Standards Council as a new Participating Organization. comForte 21 will work with the Council to achieve and improve payment data security worldwide through the ongoing development of the PCI Security Standards, including the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), PIN Transaction Security (PTS) requirements and the Payment Application Data Security Standard (PA-DSS).

Endorsed by American Express, Discover Financial Services, JCB International, MasterCard Worldwide and Visa Inc., the PCI Security Standards require merchants and service providers that store, process or transmit customer payment card data to adhere to information security controls and processes that ensure data protection. To enhance payment data security globally while embracing new technologies as they are developed, the Council relies on involvement of those across the payments processing chain, from merchants and service providers to payment device manufacturers and software developers, financial institutions and processors.

As a Participating Organization, comForte 21  adds its voice to the standards setting process and will receive previews of drafts of standards and supporting materials in order to provide feedback to shape their final versions, as well as engage a growing community of more than 600 organizations united to improve payment security.

comForte 21 will also have the opportunity to recommend new initiatives for consideration to the PCI Security Standards Council, participate in exclusive webinars and question and answer sessions with Council representatives, and review and discuss new versions of the PCI Security Standards while sharing cross-sector experiences and best practices at the annual Community Meetings.

“In an era of increasingly sophisticated attacks on systems, adhering to the PCI DSS represents an entity’s best protection against network security threats and data breaches,” said Bob Russo, General Manager of the PCI Security Standards Council.  “By joining as a Participating Organization, comForte 21 demonstrates they are playing an active part in mitigating the threats and improving the security of the payment chain globally by driving the security standards to higher levels of adoption and strength.”

“comForte 21 helps many organizations participating in the payment processing system to secure payment data and thus to achieve compliance with the PCI-DSS standards,” said Thomas Gloerfeld, VP Global Marketing at comForte 21. “Joining the PCI Security Standards Council as a Participating Organization enables us to better align our products and services with PCI DSS standards and, ultimately, to provide better solutions to our customers. comForte’s new product SecurData is the only product available for the HP NonStop platform which allows companies with existing applications such as BASE24 to comply with PCI requirement 3.4 without having to rely on compensating controls.”

For More Information:
For more information on the PCI Security Standards Council, please visit http://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/ or follow the Council on Twitter and LinkedIn.

About the PCI Security Standards Council
The PCI Security Standards Council is an open global forum that is responsible for the development, management, education, and awareness of the PCI Security Standards that increase payment data security. Founded in 2006 by the major payment card brands American Express, Discover Financial Services, JCB International, MasterCard Worldwide and Visa Inc., the Council has over 600 member organizations representing merchants, banks, processors and vendors worldwide. To learn more about how you can be a part of securing payment card data globally, please visit: pcisecuritystandards.org.

Follow the PCI Security Standards Council on Twitter and LinkedIn.

About comForte 21
With comForte 21, organizations can … 

• Connect HP NonStop platforms with the systems, applications, users, and initiatives required to meet their business and technical objectives. 
• Protect mission-critical data as it is stored in and exchanged with HP NonStop environments.
• Modernize their environment by seamlessly integrating HP NonStop with Web services and SOA initiatives. 
• Streamline administrative efforts through intuitive interfaces, and sophisticated, robust management capabilities.

Today, more than 500 customers around the world rely on comForte 21 products to manage access to mission-critical HP NonStop server applications and data.
For more information about comForte 21 please visit http://www.comforte.com/company