For adult businesses, processing payments securely and protecting customer data is a regulatory requirement, as well as a cornerstone of customer trust and business integrity.
Given the highly sensitive nature of transactions in this industry, implementing robust security measures throughout the payment lifecycle is paramount to safeguard privacy and prevent data breaches.
This discussion will explore the critical security considerations essential for adult businesses when handling customer payment information.
Data minimization
Keep it as simple as possible with data minimization and limited retention periods.
In the adult entertainment sector, discretion is paramount. For that reason alone, collecting only necessary information is crucial. Add security concerns to increase security for card nor present (CNP) transactions, and the mandate is even clearer.
Another way to safeguard information is to delete it as soon as it is no longer needed.
Implement secure storage and transmission protocols
Like its more conventional forms, adult payment processing requires the transmission and storage of sensitive customer data. Also in the same vein, information can be shielded from interception by masking and encrypting it.
This technique turns easily exploitable card information into a random series of numbers that are useless to digital thieves and can only be recovered by the authorized end user.
If you partner with an adult payment processing provider, they should offer secure data storage as part of their services. But if you are going to keep the information yourself, be sure to store it in databases that are password-protected and fortified with strict access controls.
You should also invest in firewalls and other intrusion protection systems. These help you to build walls around your network that prevent bad actors from hijacking your data.
Finally, software and systems are only as secure as their most recent update. Putting off installing patches and updates is nothing short of a recipe for disaster for your adult entertainment business.
Promote payment processing security
When a customer’s card is not present, there is greater vulnerability to fraud. The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) was implemented to protect cardholders from breaches that could compromise their identity and cost them financially.
It is your job to adhere to all PCI DSS measures and to see that any third-party provider with whom you partner also does.
You should safeguard your data with tokenization that masks details from view. Further protect it by installing anti-fraud systems.
Comply with regulations
The adult entertainment industry is bound by numerous state and federal regulations, and it is your job to learn about and follow every one that applies to your entertainment company. Doing so helps to ensure that data is protected and, should a breach occur, you can also provide proof that you did everything possible to safeguard the client details in your possession.
It is also important that you be proactive about preventing minors from accessing your website. To that end, speak to your adult payment processing provider to obtain the most robust age verification software available.
Finally, pay close attention to your content. Carefully read all regulations related to textual and video images to be sure that yours are in compliance with state, federal, and other regulations.
In addition to these strong preventive measures, bolster your adult business by creating an environment based on security awareness. Focus on privacy best practices and security protocols, and train staff in how to detect and respond to threats.
Although implementing these steps takes extra time and may be financially costly, they will be worth their weight in gold in beating back the security threats that can harm customers and damage your business’s reputation.
