JULY 22, 2009, HOUSTON, TX -- Accudata Systems announced today that one of its senior consultants, Tim Sills,  has been selected to lead a Payment Card Industry (PCI) Special Interest Group (SIG) charged with defining cardholder data.

Special Interest Groups on the Data Security Standard were formed by the PCI Security Standards Council (SSC) to leverage participating organizations' business and technical experiences to assist its Technical Working Group in the analysis of payment card industry challenges concerned with securing cardholder data.

SIG Objective:  Deliver a formal proposal to the PCI Technical Working Group to change or enhance the PCI Data Security Standard and/or the programs that support its validation.

Scoping Methodology SIG Objective:  Document a methodology and produce a whitepaper to assist organizations in defining what cardholder data is and where it is present within their environment and system components.

The approach to creating the Scoping Methodology whitepaper was divided into three groups to further define and identify cardholder data.  Accudata Systems Senior Consultant and Qualified Security Assessor (QSA), Tim Sills, volunteered and was selected to lead the group that will define cardholder data.  The cardholder data group is made up of PCI council members consisting of top tier merchants, service providers, and other QSAs.

“Leading the group that is going to define cardholder data exemplifies Accudata Systems’ Payment Card Industry expertise and our commitment to furthering the industry goals of the PCI Security Standards Council,” says Brian DiPaolo, Practice Manager of the Accudata Systems Assessments & Compliance group.  “The efforts of this Special Interest Group and the resulting whitepaper will help Accudata Systems and other QSA’s provide customers with best-in-class methods to protect their card data.”

Accudata Systems is a Qualified Security Assessor certified by the PCI Security Standards Council.  To find out more about the many PCI services offered by Accudata Systems, please call us at 800-246-4908 or e-mail us at info@accudatasystems.com.

About Accudata Systems, Inc.
Accudata Systems is an IT consulting and integration firm with more than twenty-seven years of experience providing high impact IT services and integrated solutions. With focused competencies in Enterprise Platforms, Security, Infrastructure, Assessments & Compliance, Unified Communications, and Managed Services, Accudata Systems provides a full array of services ranging from technology assessments to project deployment and support. As trusted advisors to our clients, we assist them in creating and supporting a computing environment that maximizes their investment in information technology. Accudata Systems is headquartered in Houston, Texas and has offices in Dallas, Austin, San Antonio and Los Angeles. Get more information at www.accudatasystems.com .