Home Depot Relied on Voltage Security – Should Others Be Worried?

Once again a major breach has hit the headlines – this time Home Depot was infected by the same type of malware that looted millions of credit card numbers and sensitive customer information from Target late last year.

Why does this keep happening?

Even with PCI data security standards in place and a big name data security vendor hired on to secure their data, Home Depot failed to protect their business and customers against a known threat.

The truth is, the failure was not due to the tools available, but the lack of expertise, training and care to apply the right technology in the right way. New tokenization methods can help to protect sensitive information in memory, and combat this latest form of memory-scraping malware.

It’s an underappreciated value to find a partner that will not only give you what you ask for, but will advise you on best practices and regulations, work with you in designing an effective security strategy, and ultimately help you find and protect your sensitive data with the best tools
available.

The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) guidelines could also have helped them to identify potential weaknesses and close security loopholes. Network design
has been a significant issue with large enterprises, but with thorough knowledge and preparation to effectively meet the PCI standards, more breaches can be prevented, and their effects mitigated.

Technology and regulations only take you so far in securing your business. Finding partners and people with the right expertise, knowledge, and care is the key to get you the rest of the way.

Ulf Mattsson, CTO Protegrity