Banks and financial institutions must adhere to a rigorous set of security and regulatory practices to protect data, communications, and processes.

The “Four Corners'' model, also called the Four Party Scheme, is utilized in almost all standard card payment systems across the globe. Here we introduce that model and explain what type of hardware security module (HSM) is needed for each of its components involved in the cryptographic process.

The business world today is built on the pervasive use of cryptography, to authenticate people and processes, to secure communications, and to protect sensitive data.

In this article, we will review some of the constraints of an EMV tokenization solution when it comes to FIPS and more generally, NIST considerations.

The EMV consortium released several standards detailing how “network” tokenization should be handled. There is now a general consensus within the consortium that tokenization could be the next major task for EMV payments.

The concept of a token has been used in the digital world for almost 50 years to separate and protect real data elements from exposure. In recent times, the concept of tokenization has been used as a security mechanism for protecting sensitive data.

The payment card industry data security standard (PCI DSS) calls for all financial institutions and merchants to protect their clients’ sensitive data, which typically includes the use of strong cryptography as dictated by PCI DSS requirement 3. Most organisations empty this burden on the IT department or IT management teams and hope all their compliance is covered. However, in most cases when there is a data breach, the burden lies on the shoulders of the C-level management, who are left to answer to the difficult questions.

The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) helps to safeguard cardholders’ private information. The Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) enforces the standard through recommendations and requirements that aim to ensure security across all organizations involved in the processing of cardholder information.

A key management system is a critical component in achieving PCI DSS compliance for a banking institution. It involves implementing a crypto system that manages the secure creation, exchange, distribution, storage and use of cryptographic keys for the ultimate goal of protecting users’ or clients’ sensitive data.