Bankcard Compliance Auditor Awarded CTGA - New Debit PIN Security Certification

Glens Falls, NY — July 10, 2007 — Bankcard Compliance Group, a provider of information security services to financial institutions, today announced that its principal consultant, Peter Trombley, has successfully completed the auditor examination for Network Security Compliance for PIN and Key Management. This fulfills the education requirements set forth by STAR, NYCE, and PULSE electronic fund networks (EFT) and he has now achieved the designation of Certified TG-3 Auditor (CTGA).

CTGA is a new accreditation awarded to auditors that pass a comprehensive exam related to the technical, administrative, and physical, controls for protection of PIN debit transactions. This certification was developed in 2007 by the leading EFT networks in order to validate the body of knowledge required to effectively evaluate a client’s bankcard security controls.

The purpose of this audit is to protect a consumer’s secret PIN from the time it is entered at an ATM or POS device until it reaches the financial institution that approves the transaction. The rise in bankcard fraud over the last few years has focused a spotlight on the devices and networks that support these electronic transactions. Highly publicized data breaches this past year has increased the desire of the networks, the public, and their elected representatives to ensure that all efforts are made to protect their secret PIN and bank account information. Each institution that processes PIN debit transactions for these networks is now obliged to utilize a CTGA to complete their biennial TG-3 audit.

“We are very pleased that the networks have strengthened the requirements for auditors. This will allow financial institutions to have an objective method to evaluate an auditor’s knowledge of PIN encryption controls. Financial institutions that are serious about protecting their customers will now seek out CTGA’s. This can only improve the quality of the audits and help to protect the consumers using their debit card at an ATM or POS device,” stated Peter Trombley, founder of Bankcard Compliance Group. “For too many years the industry has been plagued by inexperienced auditors, allowing some institutions to avoid their minimum security obligations and jeopardizing all network members,” added Trombley.

About Bankcard Compliance Group

Bankcard Compliance Group was founded in 2003 to provide banks, credit unions, and merchant service providers with professional TG-3 audit services. The TG-3 Compliance Guidelines were created and approved by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Accredited Standards Committee X9. This organization includes more than fifty major processors, banks and networks such as MasterCard International, Visa International, Wells Fargo Bank, NYCE, Pulse and STAR. For more information visit www.bankcardcompliance.com

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