CHICAGO and RALEIGH, N.C., Sept. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- The North Carolina Office of the State Controller announced that it has selected AmbironTrustWave for Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) compliance solutions for the state's entities that process and/or transmit credit card data.

Launched in December 2004, the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard -- known as PCI DSS -- is comprised of 12 data security requirements designed to protect sensitive information from being compromised. These requirements, which also include numerous sub-requirements, are applicable to all businesses that store, process, or transmit cardholder information.

"The protection of consumer information is one of the most important -- if not the most important -- issue for state agencies. As a government entity, we must lead by example if we expect business and organizations to adhere to our laws that mandate the security of consumer information," said Robert L. Powell, State Controller of North Carolina.

To meet stringent security requirements of credit card associations, the North Carolina Office of the State Controller is mandating PCI DSS compliance for the following:

-- Common Payment Services application - The state's proprietary payment application, which is a payment gateway available for use by the state's entities to process transactions. -- All state agencies, universities, community colleges, and local governments that participate under the State's Master Services Agreement with SunTrust Merchant Services.

AmbironTrustWave will deliver the PCI DSS compliance solutions for the State of North Carolina entities and monitor their compliance on a regular basis through the TrustKeeper(R) compliance management solution.

"As providers of numerous services, state governments have a responsibility to ensure the protection of their citizens' personal information. We are pleased to be working with the North Carolina Office of the State Controller as they continue to be early adopters of information security control policies and technologies," said Robert J. McCullen, CEO of AmbironTrustWave.

About AmbironTrustWave

AmbironTrustWave is a leading provider of information security and compliance management solutions to Fortune 2000 businesses and the public sector. The company's flagship product, TrustKeeper(R), provides data security and compliance services to approximately 30,000 businesses throughout the world. The AmbironTrustWave Trusted Commerce(SM) program helps banks, merchants, service providers and software developers mitigate their risk by validating compliance with industry best practices for safeguarding information endorsed by American Express, Discover, MasterCard International, Visa International and Visa USA. AmbironTrustWave clients include financial organizations, global electronic exchanges, educational institutions and business services firms. The Company also provides services to several government agencies. AmbironTrustWave is headquartered in Chicago with offices throughout the United States and Europe. For more information, please visit http://www.atwcorp.com/ .

CONTACT: Mike Petitti of AmbironTrustWave, +1-312-873-7291,
mpetitti@atwcorp.com

Web site: http://www.atwcorp.com/