Burger King Franchisee Finds Peace of Mind with PCI Security Solution

Ghai Management Services, a Burger King franchisee with 27 units across several states, was worried about its network being breached by hackers and customers’ credit card data being stolen. The Burger King Corporation had made it clear that creating a safe environment for guests was the responsibility of each franchisee. If proper compliance measures were not taken, a franchise could be liable for hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines, fees, and penalties. Harsh Ghai, owner of Ghai Management, decided it was necessary to seek outside assistance in order to achieve Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS) compliance.

 

PCI-DSS is the standard developed jointly by the credit card brands. Card accepting merchants are required to comply with these data security standards. Merchants who follow these requirements are less likely to have data breaches from hacking or malicious software, also known as malware, installed on their network.

 

“There were several traits I was looking for in a solution,” Ghai admits. “I wanted an answer that would provide a high level of security with minimal effort; have little or no impact on the daily business operations; and finally, offer a fixed, affordable level of expense.”

 

The overall challenge for the QSR franchisee was to create a safe environment that would be immune to viruses and malware, but that would allow limited web access. With locations across several states, it was necessary for the system to allow for remote access to each unit for reporting. With the onus on Ghai Management Services to protect the franchise and its customers, it was imperative to guard the network while implementing remote access and the use of new digital signage, while satisfying the requirements of PCI-DSS.

 

After researching several options, Ghai ultimately chose to implement the VendorSafe PCI-DSS Managed Security Suite. VendorSafe provides the franchise with many extras that boost confidence in security, including an automatic failover. If connectivity is lost, the system falls back to an alternate Internet connection and automatically returns to the regular connection once it’s back up and running. With twenty-four seven support available, Ghai Management Services has access to live, trained professionals ready to troubleshoot any network or connectivity issues. As stores evolve the use of digital signage and kiosks are also supported by the firewall. VendorSafe also allows for remote access and provides a secure, managed virtual private network (VPN). This enables any of the franchise locations to access and retrieve data securely.

 

VendorSafe provided an all encompassing combination of firewall and connectivity related features. After installing the system, Ghai noted positive results across the board. In addition to the all-important PCI-DSS compliance, external threats have been prevented, secure remote access was achieved, limited web access was enabled, and employee productivity increased. “The decision was made to go with VendorSafe for many reasons, including the systems web content filtering,” Ghai explains. “Limiting web access prevented the downloading of viruses and malware.”  Ghai noted that employee productivity improved as the solution prevented access to non work-related sites.

 

“The ease of having someone manage your network is probably the biggest benefit,” Ghai notes. “Other than that, it’s knowing that my network is safe.”