Joint Venture Created to Provide PCI Compliance Audits to South Florida Merchants

July 21, 2010 - PRLog -- Two South Florida technology firms, Advantage Networking, Inc. and Microliance, LLC, have joined forces to form 1st Secure IT, LLC http://www.1stsecureIT.com, a joint venture created specifically to provide PCI compliance, security audits, and other remediation services to Tri-County South Florida area businesses as well as business throughout the US.

Operating out of Coral Springs Florida, 1st Secure IT is formally accredited as a Qualified Security Assessor (QSA) by the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SSC).  As a QSA, 1st Secure IT is authorized to provide PCI compliance audit services to businesses that accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, and JCB Bank cards including Level 1 - Level 4 merchants, Service Providers, and Payment Gateways.

Mark Akins of 1st Secure IT (www.1stsecureIT.com) says that South Florida Merchants already understand the value of the PCI Compliance services they offer. “Credit card fraud and Cybercrime continues to be a huge problem and South Florida is known for its hackers.  In response, the major card issuers like Visa and MasterCard have recently imposed strict security standards.”  Akins adds, “Having a strong IT security policy and completing a PCI GAP analysis is a good first step toward PCI Compliance, but partnering with a talented and local QSA company is the key to success.   Very few South Florida QSAs can provide the kind of follow-up we can – error remediation, system maintenance, updates – either directly or through one of our sister companies.  With 1st Security IT, Tri-County area merchants now have a single source, end-to-end and local PCI compliance partner. Not only do we help achieve compliance, we also maintain it.”

Adding to Akins comments, Steve Dewsnap of 1st Secure IT says it was only natural that the two highly experienced and well-regarded IT firms would collaborate. “We both worked with the same types of businesses but provided different services in our respective firms.  We saw that by working together, we could provide PCI compliance auditing and IT consulting in an integrated, seamless service. It’s a great business model from both a service provider and client perspective. Everybody wins.”

Akins is quick to point out that 1st Secure IT is a full service provider and also performs other regulatory compliance audits, such as Sarbanes-Oxley, HIPAA, FFIEC (Federal Financial Institution Examination Council), and EI3PA (Experian Independent Third-Party Audits).  Visit http://www.1stsecureIT.com for more information about 1st Secure IT, PCI compliance, or the various other security audit services they offer.

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1st Secure IT, LLC is a global information systems security firm that provides high end and specialized consulting services and products.

Through numerous engagements, 1st Secure IT has developed a profound understanding of the various Data Security Standards (PCI DSS, EI3PA, SOX, HIPAA, FFIEC). Additionally, we have a proven ability to assess, audit, and review an organization's compliance to those standards while providing a repository of proven methods, knowledge, ideas, tools and best practices.

In today's world computer security is not a luxury; it is a necessity. To this end, organizations that understand and implement the security measures that are required by these standards not only avoid costly fines, but also can reduce the risk of an actual data loss and more importantly gain peace of mind.

Visit 1st Secure IT online at http://www.1stSecureIT.com.