The Canadian security software provider Third Brigade Inc. has joined the PCI Security Standards Council.
The Ottawa company said Tuesday that it joined the Reston, Va., trade group because it wanted to participate in developing the payment card industry's security standards.
The council develops and maintains the industry's security standards, which describe how merchants must protect consumer account data for card transactions. The standard is endorsed by all the major credit card companies.
Visa Inc. said last week that 77% of its largest merchants, those that handle more than 6 million Visa transactions a year, are now in compliance with the PCI standards, and that 62% of its second-largest merchant category, those with 1 million to 6 million transactions, now meet the PCI standards.
Bob Russo, the PCI council's general manager, said in a Third Brigade press release that "by participating in the standards-setting process, Third Brigade demonstrates that they are playing an active role in this important end goal" of protecting consumer data.
