SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. -- nCircle, the leading provider of agentless security risk and compliance management solutions, today announced the nCircle Certified PCI Scan Service version 2.0. This version extends the scan service to include automated preparation of the Self-Assessment Questionnaire as well as online submission of the certified quarterly PCI reports for automated retrieval by acquiring financial institutions. The addition of these capabilities to the scan service simplifies compliance administration and enables merchants and service providers of all sizes to demonstrate PCI compliance easily and cost-effectively.

The nCircle Certified PCI Scan Service version 2.0 now includes an online version of the Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ), a required validation tool developed by the PCI Security Standards Council for merchants and service providers to demonstrate PCI compliance. Users can complete the questionnaire online and revisit the document as often as required to ensure accuracy before submitting it for review. In addition, this version also automates the process of filing the SAQ and quarterly PCI reports at the completion of a network scan, through an online portal. The service then automatically notifies the acquiring financial institution when reports are available for secure, convenient retrieval.

These new capabilities, when combined with automated network scanning and a streamlined vulnerability remediation process, simplify administration while reducing the operational costs associated with demonstrating quarterly PCI compliance. In addition to benefiting merchants and service providers, the new version also benefits acquiring financial institutions by enabling them to regularly monitor the compliance status of their merchants.

Additional highlights of the new version include the addition of Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) base scores as indicated in the National Vulnerability Database to the auto-generated PCI reports. CVSS is an industry standard established to commonly assess the severity of a vulnerability to help prioritize the urgency of response to address it. It solves the problem of multiple, vendor-specific scoring systems and simplifies tracking PCI compliance for merchants, service providers and acquiring financial institutions. The PCI Data Security Standard (DSS) v1.1 requires that as of June 30th, 2007, all Approved Scanning Vendors must be able to deliver certified PCI reports that include CVSS scores.

"The nCircle Certified PCI Scan Service was among the first to pass rigorous testing to become a certified Approved Scan Vendor under the enhanced version 1.1 of the PCI Data Security Standard," said Stefan Petry, Vice President of Product Management, nCircle. "We continue to expand our vision for the service by being among the first to deliver the most advanced, yet simple, and up to date PCI compliance tools in the industry."

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