Fusepoint Managed Services, a leading provider of outsourced IT services and infrastructure, today announced it has become Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) compliant, as confirmed by Visa's Cardholder Information Security Program. Fusepoint now joins a select group of vendors to receive this designation and is one of very few managed hosting providers in Canada to be approved.

PCI DSS is a data protection standard created by the payment card industry that aims to secure credit cardholder information wherever it resides. PCI DSS applies to organizations that store, process or transmit cardholder information, and outlines steps that merchants and service providers must take to achieve compliance. Noncompliance can be costly, as companies that do not meet PCI's 12 requirements run the risk of not being able to conduct business with leading credit card companies including Visa, MasterCard and American Express.

To meet PCI compliance standards, companies doing business with the payment card industry must prove they are taking a wide range of data protection measures. Precautions range from what should be standard for most businesses including the installation and maintenance of a firewall and regularly updating anti-virus software, to more specialized network tracking, monitoring, and security infrastructure testing. Fusepoint worked with Visa's Cardholder Information Security Program to complete the compliance audit.

"Many of the IT requirements in the PCI data security standard are simply good business practices that protect your customers, your brand, and your bottom line," says George Kerns, President and CEO, Fusepoint Managed Services. "Fusepoint takes a proactive stance when it comes to all matters related to compliance. We recognize that our customers can enjoy the peace of mind in knowing we adhere to the highest security standards, allowing them to focus on running their own businesses."

Fusepoint has achieved the highest level of PCI compliance for service providers supporting Tier 1 merchants - retailers that process between one million and six million transactions per year - that typically require the services of a managed hosting provider to ensure the infrastructure that processes credit card information is secure.

"As a leading provider of automated payment solutions for the North American parking industry, Digital Payment Technologies is required to be PCI compliant as a level 1 service provider. To facilitate this in the best manner possible, we use a managed hosting provider that is also Tier 1 PCI compliant" said Christopher MacPhail, CTO, Digital Payment Technologies. "Customers undergoing PCI compliance demand that sensitive credit card data be secure right from the point of sale terminal on through my upstream providers. With Fusepoint, I have that guarantee."

Sample of PCI Issues Addressed:

• Hackers (external and internal to a company) often use vendor default passwords and other vendor default settings to compromise systems. These passwords and settings are well-known in hacker communities and easily determined via public information.
• Unscrupulous individuals use security vulnerabilities to gain privileged access to systems. Many of these vulnerabilities are fixed by vendor-provided security patches. All systems must have the most recently released, appropriate software patches to protect against exploitation by employees, external hackers, and viruses.
• Any physical access to data or systems that house cardholder data provides the opportunity for individuals to access devices or data and to remove systems or hardcopies, and should be appropriately restricted.
• For more information on PCI http://usa.visa.com/merchants/risk_management/cisp.html

About Fusepoint Managed Services
Fusepoint is a leading provider of outsourced managed IT infrastructure and application services for companies that demand the highest levels of performance and reliability from their mission-critical systems. With offices and data centres in Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal and Quebec City, we have built a loyal base of over 400 customers and strong, strategic relationships with Canada's leading technology and communication companies. Our solutions enable organizations to focus on key goals and objectives, while we ensure their IT infrastructure is "always available" and "always secure".

Fusepoint's services are SLA-guaranteed, scalable and designed to reduce cost structures while mitigating risk. Fusepoint is also SAS 70 Type II, CICA 5970, and most recently PCI compliant, which means our processes are rigorously and continuously audited by an accredited third party and consistently operate at the highest levels of reliability within the industry. Visit http://www.fusepoint.com

Jill Yetman / Laura Watton
Environics Communications        
416.969.2722 / 416.969.2766
Fusepoint Managed Services
jyetman @ environicspr.com /
lwatton @ environicspr.com

Roger Hamshaw
Director Channel Marketing
905.363.3796
roger.hamshaw @ fusepoint.com