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Encryption and Tokenization – What it is and Why it Affects Your Business
You work hard to ensure your business serves its purpose to your clientele; you want to be sure the faith they place in you is never jeopardized. You invest in the best merchant credit card processing services and you made the choice to team with FDIS. Still, though, you wonder about what some of those processes mean not only for your security, but for your customers’ as well. Here’s a look at what encryption and tokenization mean and how they play into the security of credit card processing terminals.
Encryption – Think of this as an algorithm that encodes the text or numbers on your customers’ credit cards. It “jumbles” it up so that it can be read by anyone attempting to hack into a banking or financial system. It protects both you and the cardholder.
Tokenization – Once the information has been encrypted, the information, such as the credit card number and other sensitive documentation, is then rewritten with a random method that allows it to be read by your credit card processing company and the financial institutions that are involved.
These two actions, when working together, can help prevent vulnerabilities during the trip back and forth over the networks. There are tree states of data during the few seconds between the time the card is swiped or entered into your website checkout page and the time the process is completed.
In transit – This is the data actually moving from the credit card processing equipment to the applicable banking network. Encryption occurs to ensure a secure transaction.
At rest – Tokenization takes effect here for data that is stored. For instance, if you routinely make online payments to vendors or even utility companies, you might have noticed a check box that allows you to “store the information for later use”. This information is “at rest” until you use it again. It’s been encrypted and tokenized so that it’s never left vulnerable for cyber thieves.
Finally, In use means the date is being used for purposes such as analysis and authorizing payment transactions. It works along with the encryption and tokenization methods to keep the entire process as safe as possible.
Keep reading for more information on how FDIS keeps your data safe, your customers happy and your business moving along smoothly.
