• Al Ali: As a PCI DSS compliant telecom provider in the region, we can now provide our customers with a higher level of assurance that reflects the strength of our cyber security validated against global standards.

Kuwait: Kuwait Telecommunications Company – stc, a world-class digital leader providing innovative services and platforms to customers, enabling the digital transformation in Kuwait, announced that it is now compliant with the Payment Card Industry (PCI) – Data Security Standard (DSS) after receiving its version 3.2.1 certification.

In a statement released by stc, the Company indicated that to obtain the PCI-DSS, it went through a comprehensive and rigorous auditing review of existing processes that involved the acts of securing current customer data. Although protecting customer data comes as an ongoing initiative for the Company, it was able to effectively comply with the technical and operational requirements due to the diligent efforts made by the stc team. stc marks the achievement as a standard that will reinforce its ongoing commitment to provide its customers with pioneering solutions, backed by a secure online payment portal protected against cyber threats and privacy data breaches.

The PCI-DSS is one of the most stringent and comprehensive global industry standards for payment security. Vendors and businesses in compliance with PCI-DSS are required to conform to a set of prerequisites issued by the PCI Security Standards Council to ensure the protection of sensitive cardholder data and aid in the prevention of credit card fraud. Moving forward, the Company will be more equipped and protected against breaches, while possessing a competitive advantage in global security practices. Data breaches can not only lead to financial loss and distress but can also harm the brand and reputation that institutions spent years to build. Ensuring the protection of sensitive customer data from possible cyber-attacks is not a matter stc takes lightly, especially during times where such attacks are occurring more often, exposing sensitive information due to data breaches.

Commenting on the achievement, engineer Fahad Abdul Rahman Al Ali, Chief Technology Officer at stc said, “The certification is a testament to stc’s diligent and effective cyber security strategy to establish and maintain a reliable and secure payment processing environment for its customers. On behalf of the stc Cyber Security team and myself, I would like to congratulate stc for achieving another major milestone in attaining the PCI-DSS 3.2.1 for its CDE in Kuwait. Considering the unprecedented magnitude of the pandemic, I wish to emphasize that this achievement would have not been possible without high level of commitment witnessed by stc’s management. Their guidance and support enabled the project team to apply their knowledge and experience both effectively and efficiently which led to this success.”

Al Ali added, “Complying with PCI-DSS 3.2.1 is essential for entities that wish to protect their customers’ card data and provide customers with the confidence to execute transactions online securely. The prerequisites set in place to obtain the certification enhances data security, which in return helps retain loyal customers and provides all stakeholders with peace of mind. At stc, we believe in the importance of investing in a solid cyber-security infrastructure that will reduce cyber-attack vulnerability for both our customers and employees, keeping their data safe and protected from potential threats.”

Ends

About stc

Kuwait Telecommunications Company (stc) is a Kuwaiti shareholding company incorporated pursuant to Amiri Decree No. 187 on 22 July, 2008, to operate and manage the third GSM mobile network in Kuwait as per Law No. 2 of 2007. Accordingly, stc launched its operations in December 2008 and was listed on Boursa Kuwait in December 2014. It is a world-class digital leader providing innovative services and platforms to customers and enabling the digital transformation in Kuwait, and is a subsidiary of stc Group. stc has rapidly reached a leadership stance in the market through its customer and employee centric strategy.

stc offers an innovative range of world-class products, services and solutions with high quality, that cater to the customers’ needs and demands, both for individuals and enterprises (solutions by stc). In 2019, stc acquired 100% of the share capital of the Internet Service Provider, Qualitynet General Trading and Contracting Company (solutions by stc) in Kuwait.

stc offers high internet speeds due to the implementation of the most advanced 5G network and deployment of the largest network nationwide.

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