RSA, The Security Division of EMC (NYSE: EMC), today announced the interoperability of five RSA(R) PCI Solutions in the Cisco Payment Card Industry (PCI) reference architectures. The Cisco PCI Solution for Retail Validated Network Designs help retailers of all sizes effectively address the data security requirements mandated by the PCI Data Security Standard (PCI DSS).

The Cisco Validated Network Designs, which have been validated by external PCI Qualified Security Auditor (QSA) Verizon Business, offer a set of cost- effective, audited solutions that help customers meet many of the most challenging PCI DSS requirements, including authentication, encryption and compliance reporting. RSA is leveraging the Cisco PCI Validated Network Designs to help enable retailers to easily integrate new or existing technology solutions into their in-store, Internet edge and data center environments in a PCI DSS compliant manner.

"The complexity of PCI compliance cannot be untangled by a single product or set of products; the requirements call for a holistic strategy that spans people, process, and technology," said Jim Melvin, vice president of Marketing and Security Solutions at RSA. "Smart retailers, who take advantage of PCI DSS as an opportunity to establish a foundation of broad data security best practices, will be better prepared to not only achieve and maintain PCI DSS compliance, but to ready their organizations for new data security and compliance requirements that may emerge in the future."

Delivering one of the industry's most comprehensive PCI DSS solutions

Cisco PCI Solution for Retail in-store network designs, deployed in Cisco's technology labs provide clear, in-depth guidance on how retailers may deploy associated RSA and Cisco products in a PCI validated manner. Retailers can consult Design & Implementation Guides for technical instruction on the deployment of particular products to address specific PCI requirements. Furthermore, retailers may review a Report on Compliance from Verizon Business, which provides feedback from a certified PCI QSA regarding the ability of RSA and Cisco products to be deployed in a manner that meets specific PCI DSS requirements.

"The strategic alliance between RSA and Cisco centers on the development of technology to bring data protection into the network to help customers simplify the protection of sensitive information," said Melvin. "Today with our combined expertise, we are able to offer retailers one of the industry's most comprehensive sets of audited technologies and services designed to protect credit card data whether it resides in-store, at the Internet Edge or at the data center."