The PowerTech Group, a leader in enterprise security solutions for the System has announced it has joined the PCI Security Standards Council, a global, open standards body providing guidance to the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Standard, as a new participating organization.

As a participating organization, PowerTech will work with the council to evolve the PCI Data Security Standard (DSS) and other payment card data protection standards. The PCI DSS, endorsed by American Express, Discover Financial Services, JCB, MasterCard Worldwide, and Visa Inc., requires merchants and service providers that store, process or transmit customer payment card data to adhere to information security controls and processes that ensure data integrity. More information on the council and the standard can be found at http://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/.

As a participating organization, PowerTech will have access to the latest payment card security standards from the council, be able to provide feedback on the standards, and will become part of a growing community that now includes more than 350 organizations. In an era of increasingly sophisticated attacks on systems, adhering to the PCI DSS represents an entity's best protection against data criminals. By joining as a participating organization, PowerTech is adding its voice to the process.

"The PCI Security Standards Council is committed to helping everyone involved in the payment chain protect consumer payment data," said Bob Russo, general manager of the PCI Security Standards Council. "By participating in the standards-setting process, PowerTech demonstrates it is playing an active part in this important end goal."

PowerTech provides data privacy and compliance solutions that help organizations using the System i comply with a wide range of standards including PCI. According to industry research, the System i is used by more than 90 percent of the Fortune 1000 alone, usually to host sensitive and confidential data such as credit card data. However, in PowerTech's 2007 study on the state of security for the System i, the company found the System i is typically left under secured by a majority of organizations because of improper configuration due to lack of experience or the lack of tools. Furthering the problem is that many auditors and IT administrators are unaware of the vulnerabilities, resulting in critical data exposures in spite of a successful IT audit.

"We are pleased to be accepted as a participating organization in this important security standards organization," said Jon Scott, president and CEO of The PowerTech Group. "The IBM System i running i5/OS is a critical platform for credit card payment processing, and while it is highly reliable, it is often left wide open for attack simply by not being configured properly. By joining the council, we hope to add our particular knowledge in helping organizations close this security gap."

About PCI Security Standards Council

The mission of the PCI Security Standards Council is to enhance payment account security by fostering broad adoption of PCI security standards. For more information, please visit www.pcisecuritystandards.org

About The PowerTech Group

PowerTech is a security expert in managing evolving compliance and data privacy threats with automated security solutions for IBM midrange servers. The company's Server-Proven security solutions are straightforward and save valuable IT resources, giving clients ongoing protection and peace of mind. Because System i and AS/400 servers are used to host particularly sensitive corporate data, it is imperative that companies practice proactive compliance security. As an IBM Advanced Business Partner with over 800 customers worldwide, PowerTech understands corporate vulnerability and the risks associated with data privacy and access control. For more information, send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

PowerTech is your security expert in managing evolving compliance and data privacy threats with automated security solutions for IBM Midrange Servers. Our ServerProven security solutions are straightforward and save your valuable IT resources, giving you ongoing protection and peace of mind.   Because IBM Power System (iSeries and AS/400) servers are used to host particularly sensitive corporate data, it is imperative that you practice proactive compliance security. As an IBM Advanced Business Partner with over 1,000 customers worldwide, PowerTech understands corporate vulnerability and the risks associated with data privacy and access control.   Eden Prairie, Minnesota-based PowerTech Group was founded by security experts in 1996. In 2004, PowerTech was awarded the prestigious Industry Driver APEX Award from iSeries NEWS. That same year, PowerTech also won the APEX award as the Editor’s Choice in the Security category. PowerTech is also the only iSeries security company to have been recognized as a finalist in the IBM Beacon awards.

The PowerTech security solutions provide definitive security coverage for iSeries and AS/400 systems.