The buzz: Breached again. Forbes.com’s “The Big Data Breaches of 2014” include Neiman Marcus, Michaels, P.F. Chang’s, Dairy Queen, Goodwill Industries, Affinity Gaming’s 11 casinos, Albertson’s, plus “22.8 million private records of New Yorkers.” Breaches cost merchants dearly in lost customers and profits, a tarnished reputation, and substantial fines. Are merchants waking up and becoming proactive about PCI (Payment Card Industry) compliance and security standards? How easy is it for hackers to gain access via merchants’ unprotected vulnerabilities? The experts speak. Richard McCammon
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