Here are some Credit Card Security 101 terms, as defined by the PCI Security Standards Council that every restaurateur should know.
Acquirer: Bank or financial institute that processes credit or debit card payments for products or services for a merchant. “Acquirer” indicates that the bank accepts or acquires credit card payment from the card issuing banks within an association (Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express, etc.)
Adware: Type of malicious software that, when installed, forces a computer to automatically display or download advertisements.
Malware: “Malicious Software” designed to infiltrate or damage a computer system without the owner’s knowledge or consent and typically enters a network during many business-approved activities.
Patch: Update to existing software to add functionality or to correct a defect.
Phishing: Act of attempting to acquire information such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication.
Skimming: Unauthorized data capture and transfer to another source.
Spyware: Type of malicious software that when installed, intercepts or takes partial control of the user’s computer without the user’s consent.
Trojan or Trojan Horse: A type of malicious software that when installed, allows a user to perform a normal function while the Trojan performs malicious functions to the computer system without the user’s knowledge.
Worm: A worm is a standalone malware program that replicates itself in order to spread to other computers. Worms typically cause some harm to the network, even by only consuming bandwidth.
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